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THE 


CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 


THE  AUTHOR  OF  "HOCHELAGA." 


IN     TWO     VOLUME: 

VOL.   I. 


NEW    Y  O  R  K  : 

HARPER   &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 
82   CLIFF    STREET. 

18  50. 


INTRODUCTION. 


England  and  France  started  in  a  fair  race  for  the 
magnificent  prize  of  supremacy  in  America.  The  ad- 
s'antages  and  difficulties  of  each  were  much  alike,  but 
the  systems  by  which  they  improved  those  advantages 
and  met  those  difficulties  were  essentially  different. 
New  France  was  colonized  by  a  government,  New  En- 
gland by  a  people.  In  Canada  the  men  of  intellect,  in- 
fluence, and  wealth  were  only  the  agents  of  the  moth- 
er country ;  they  fulfilled,  it  is  true,  their  colonial  du- 
ties with  zeal  and  ability,  but  they  ever  looked  to 
France  for  honor  and  approbation,  and  longed  for  a  re- 
turn to  her  shores  as  their  best  reward.  They  were  in 
the  colony,  but  not  of  it.  They  strove  vigorously  to 
repel  invasion,  to  improve  agriculture,  and  to  encourage 
commerce,  for  the  sake  of  France,  but  not  for  Canada. 

The  mass  of  the  population  of  New  France  were  de- 
scended from  settlers  sent  out  within  a  short  time  after 
the  first  occupation  of  the  country,  and  who  were  not 
selected  for  any  peculiar  qualifications.  They  were  not 
led  to  emigrate  from  the  spirit  of  adventure,  disappoint- 
ed ambition,  or  political  discontent ;  by  far  the  larger 
proportion  left  their  native  country  under  the  pressure 
of  extreme  want  or  in  blind  obedience  to  the  will  of 
their  superiors.  They  were  then  established  in  points 
best  suited  to  the  interests  of  France,  not  those  best 
suited  to  their  own.  The  physical  condition  of  the 
humbler  emigrant,  however,  became  better  than  that 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

of  his  countrymen  in  the  Old  World  ;  the  fertile  soil 
repaid  his  labor  with  competence ;  independence  fos- 
tered self-reliance,  and  the  unchecked  range  of  forest 
and  prairie  inspired  him  with  thoughts  of  freedom. 
But  all  these  elevating  tendencies  were  fatally  counter- 
acted by  the  blighting  influence  of  feudal  organization. 
Restrictions,  humiliating  as  well  as  injurious,  pressed 
upon  the  person  and  property  of  the  Canadian.  Every 
avenue  to  wealth  and  influence  was  closed  to  him  and 
thrown  open  to  the  children  of  Old  France.  He  saw 
whole  tracts  of  the  magnificent  country  lavished  upon 
the  favorites  and  military  followers  of  the  court,  and, 
through  corrupt  or  capricious  influences,  the  privilege 
of  exclusive  trade  granted  for  the  aggrandizement  of 
strangers  at  his  expense. 

France  founded  a  state  in  Canada.  She  established 
a  feudal  and  ecclesiastical  frame-work  for  the  young 
nation,  and  into  that  Procrustean  bed  the  growth  of 
population  and  the  proportions  of  society  were  forced. 
The  state  fixed  governments  at  Montreal,  Three  Riv- 
ers, and  Quebec  ;  there  towns  arose.  She  divided  the 
rich  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  of  the  Richelieu 
into  seigneuries ;  there  population  spread.  She  placed 
posts  on  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  Far  West ;  there 
the  fur-traders  congregated.  She  divided  the  land  into 
dioceses  and  parishes,  and  appointed  bishops  and  cu- 
rates ;  a  portion  of  all  produce  of  the  soil  was  exacted 
for  their  support.  She  sent  out  the  people  at  her  own 
cost,  and  acknowledged  no  shadow  of  popular  rights. 
She  organized  the  inhabitants  by  an  unsparing  con- 
scription, and  placed  over  them  officers  either  from  the 
Old  Country  or  from  the  favored  class  of  seigneurs. 
She  grasped  a  monopoly  f)f  overy  valuable  production 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

of  the  country,  and  yet  forced  upon  it  her  own  manu- 
factures to  the  exclusion  of  all  others.  She  squander- 
ed her  resources  and  ti*easures  on  the  colony,  but  vio- 
lated all  principles  of  justice  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  make 
that  colony  a  source  of  vv^ealth.  She  sent  out  the  ablest 
and  best  of  her  officers  to  govern  on  the  falsest  and 
worst  of  systems.  Her  energy  absorbed  all  individual 
energy  ;  her  perpetual  and  minute  interference  aspired 
to  shape  and  direct  all  will  and  motive  of  her  subjects. 
The  state  was  every  thing,  the  people  nothing.  Final- 
ly, when  the  power  of  the  state  was  broken  by  a  for- 
eign foe,  there  remained  no  power  of  the  people  to  sup- 
ply its  place.  On  the  day  that  the  French  armies 
ceased  to  resist,  Canada  was  a  peaceful  province  of 
British  America. 

A  few  years  after  the  French  crown  had  founded  a 
state  in  Canada,  a  handful  of  Puritan  refugees  founded 
a  people  in  New  England.  They  bore  with  them  from 
the  mother  country  little  beside  a  bitter  hatred  of  the 
existing  government,  and  a  stern  resolve  to  perish  or  be 
free.  One  small  vessel — the  May-flower — held  them, 
their  wives,  their  children,  and  their  scanty  stores.  So 
ignorant  were  they  of  the  country  of  their  adoption, 
that  they  sought  its  shores  in  the  depth  of  vrinter,  when 
nothing  but  a  snowy  desert  met  their  sight.  Dire  hard- 
ships assailed  them ;  many  sickened  and  died,  but  those 
who  lived  still  strove  bravely.  And  bitter  was  their 
trial ;  the  scowling  sky  above  their  heads,  the  frozen 
earth  under  their  feet,  and  sorest  of  all,  deep  in  their 
strong  hearts  the  unacknowledged  love  of  that  venera- 
ble land  which  they  had  abandoned  forever. 

But  brighter  times  soon  came ;  the  snowy  desert 
changed  into  a  fair  scene  of  life  and  veijetation.     The 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

woods  rang  with  the  cheerful  sound  of  the  ax ;  the 
fields  were  tilled  hopefully,  the  harvest  gathered  grate- 
fully. Other  vessels  arrived  bearing  more  settlers, 
men,  for  the  most  part,  like  those  who  had  first  landed. 
Their  numbers  swelled  to  hundreds,  thousands,  tens  of 
thousands.  They  formed  themselves  into  a  commu- 
nity ;  they  decreed  laws,  stern  and  quaint,  but  suited 
to  their  condition.  They  had  neither  rich  nor  poor ; 
they  admitted  of  no  superiority  save  in  their  own 
gloomy  estimate  of  merit ;  they  persecuted  all  forms 
of  faith  different  from  that  which  they  themselves  held, 
and  yet  they  would  have  died  rather  than  suffer  the 
religious  interference  of  others.  Far  from  seeking  or 
accepting  aid  from  the  government  of  England,  they 
patiently  tolerated  their  nominal  dependence  only  be- 
cause they  were  virtually  independent.  For  protection 
against  the  savage ;  for  relief  in  pestilence  or  famine  ; 
for  help  to  plenty  and  prosperity,  they  trusted  alone  to 
God  in  heaven,  and  to  their  own  right  hand  on  earth. 
Such,  in  the  main,  were  the  ancestors  of  the  men  of 
New  England,  and,  in  spite  of  all  subsequent  admix- 
ture, such,  in  the  main,  were  they  themselves.  In  the 
other  British  colonies  also,  hampered  though  they  were 
by  charters,  and  proprietary  rights,  and  alloyed  by  a 
Babci  congregation  of  French  Huguenots,  Dutch, 
Swedes,  Quakers,  Nobles,  Roundheads,  Canadians, 
rogues,  zealots,  infidels,  enthusiasts,  and  felons,  a  gen- 
eral pro.sperity  had  created  individual  self-reliance,  and 
self-reliance  had  engendered  the  desire  of  self-govern- 
ment. Each  colony  contained  a  separate  vitality  with- 
in itself.  They  commenced  under  a  variety  of  systems ; 
more  or  less  practicable,  more  or  less  liberal,  and  more 
or  less  dependent  uu  the  parent  .state.     Bat  the  spirit 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  adventure,  the  disaffection,  and  the  disappointed  am- 
bition which  had  so  rapidly  recruited  their  population, 
gave  a  general  bias  to  their  political  feelings  which  no 
arbitrary  authority  could  restrain,  and  no  institutions 
counteract.  They  were  less  intolerant  and  morose,  but 
at  the  same  time,  also,  less  industrious  and  moral  than 
their  Puritan  neighbors.  Like  them,  however,  they 
resented  all  interference  from  England  as  far  as  they 
dared,  and  constantly  strove  for  the  acquisition  or  re- 
tention of  popular  rights. 

The  British  colonists,  left  at  ifirst,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, to  themselves,  settled  on  the  most  fertile  lands, 
built  their  towns  upon  the  most  convenient  harbors,  di- 
rected their  industry  to  the  most  profitable  commerce, 
raised  the  most  valuable  productions.  The  trading 
spirit  of  the  mother  country  became  almost  a  passion 
when  transferred  to  the  New  World.  Enterprise  and 
industry  were  stimulated  to  incredible  activity  by  brill- 
iant success  and  ample  reward.  As  wealth  and  the 
means  of  subsistence  increased,  so  multiplied  the  pop- 
ulation. Early  marriages  were  universal ;  a  numer- 
ous family  was  the  riches  of  the  parent.  Thousands 
of  immigrants,  also,  from  year  to  year  swelled  the  liv- 
ing flood  that  poured  over  the  wilderness.  In  a  centu- 
ry and  a  half  the  inhabitants  of  British  America  ex- 
ceeded nearly  twenty-fold  the  people  of  New  France. 
The  relative  superiority  of  the  first  over  the  last  was 
even  greater  in  wealth  and  resources  than  in  popula- 
tion. The  merchant  navy  of  the  English  colonies  was 
already  larger  than  that  of  many  European  nations, 
and  known  in  almost  every  port  in  the  world  where 
men  bought  and  sold.     New  France  had  none. 

The  French  colonies  were  founded  and  fostered  by 


VIU  INTRODUCTION. 

the  state,  with  the  real  object  of  extending  the  domin- 
ion, increasing  the  power,  and  illustrating  the  glory  of 
France.  The  ostensible  object  of  settlement,  at  least 
that  holding  the  most  prominent  place  in  all  Acts  and 
Charters,  was  to  extend  the  true  religion,  and  to  min- 
ister to  the  glory  of  God.  From  the  earliest  time  the 
ecclesiastical  establishments  of  Canada  were  formed  on 
a  scale  suited  to  these  professed  views.  Not  only  was 
ample  provision  made  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
European  population,  but  the  labors  of  many  earnest 
and  devoted  men  were  directed  to  the  enlightenment 
of  the  heathen  Indians.  At  first  the  Church  and  the 
civil  government  leaned  upon  each  other  for  mutual 
support  and  assistance,  but  after  a  time,  when  neither 
of  these  powers  found  themselves  troubled  with  popu- 
lar opposition,  their  union  grew  less  intimate  ;  their  in- 
terests difiered,  jealousies  ensued,  and  finally  they  be- 
came antagonistic  orders  in  the  community.  The  mass 
of  the  people,  more  devout  than  intelligent,  sympa- 
thized with  the  priesthood ;  this  sympathy  did  not, 
however,  interfere  with  unqualified  submission  to  the 
government. 

The  Canadians  were  trained  to  imphcit  obedience  to 
their  rulers,  spiritual  and  temporal :  these  rulers  ven- 
tured not  to  imperil  their  absolute  authority  by  educa- 
ting their  vassals.  It  is  true  there  were  a  few  semina- 
ries and  schools  under  the  zealous  administration  of  the 
Jesuits  ;  but  even  that  instruction  was  unattainable  by 
the  general  population  ;  those  who  walked  in  the  moon- 
fight  which  such  reflected  rays  afforded,  were  not  like- 
ly to  become  troublesome  as  sectarians  or  politicians. 
Much  credit  for  sincerity  can  not  be  given  to  those  who 
professed  to  promote  the  education  of  the  people,  when 


INTRODUCTIOIV.  IX 

no  printing-press  was  ever  permitted  in  Canada  during 
the  government  of  France. 

Canada,  unprovoked  by  Dissent,  was  altogether  free 
from  the  stain  of  religious  persecution :  hopelessly  fet- 
tered in  the  chains  of  metropolitan  power,  she  was  also 
undisturbed  by  political  agitation.  But  this  calm  was 
more  the  stillness  of  stagnation  than  the  tranquillity 
of  content.  "Without  a  press,  without  any  semblance 
of  popular  representation,  there  hardly  remained  other 
alternatives  than  tame  submission  or  open  mutiny. 
By  hereditary  habit  and  superstition  the  Canadians 
were  trained  to  the  first,  and  by  weakness  and  want 
of  energy  they  were  incapacitated  for  the  last. 

Although  the  original  charter  of  New  England  as- 
serted the  king's  supremacy  in  matters  of  religion,  a 
full  understanding  existed  that  on  this  head  ample  lat- 
itude should  be  allowed ;  ample  latitude  was  accord- 
ingly taken.  She  set  up  a  system  of  faith  of  her  own, 
and  enforced  conformity.  But  the  same  spirit  that  had 
excited  the  colonists  to  dissent  from  the  Church  of  En- 
gland, and  to  sacrifice  home  and  friends  in  the  cause, 
soon  raised  up  among  them  a  host  of  dissenters  from 
their  own  stern  and  peculiar  creed.  Their  clergy  had 
sacrificed  much  foj  conscience'  sake,  and  were  generally 
"  faithful,  watchful,  painful,  serving  their  flock  daily 
with  prayers  and  tears,"  some  among  them,  also,  men 
of  high  European  repute.  They  had  often,  however, 
the  mortification  of  seeing  their  congregations  crowding 
to  hear  the  ravings  of  any  knave  or  enthusiast  who 
broached  a  new  doctrine.  Most  of  these  mischievous 
fanatics  were  given  the  advantage  of  that  interest  and 
sympathy  which  a  cruel  and  unnecessary  persecution 
invariably  excites.     All  this  time  freedom  of  individ- 

A2 


INTRODUCTION. 


iial  judgment  was  the  watch-word  of  the  persecutors. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  strong  measures  were  necessary 
to  curb  tlie  furious  and  profane  absurdities  of  many  of 
tlie  scceders,  who  were  the  very  outcasts  of  religion. 
On  considering  the  criminal  laws  of  the  time,  it  would 
also  appear  that  not  a  few  of  the  outcasts  of  society, 
also,  had  found  their  way  to  New  England.  The  code 
of  Massachusetts  contained  the  description  of  the  most 
extraordinary  collection  of  crimes  that  ever  defaced  a 
statute-book,  and  the  various  punishments  allotted  to 
each. 

In  one  grand  point  the  pre-eminent  merit  of  the  Pu- 
ritans must  be  acknowledged  :  they  strove  earnestly 
and  conscientiously  for  what  they  held  to  be  the  truth. 
For  this  they  endured  with  unshaken  constancy,  and 
persecuted  with  unremitting  zeal. 

The  suicidal  policy  of  the  Stuarts  had,  for  a  time, 
driven  all  the  upholders  of  civil  liberty  into  the  ranks 
of  sectarianism.  The  advocates  of  the  extremes  of  re- 
ligious and  political  opinion  flocked  to  America,  the 
furthest  point  from  kings  and  prelates  that  they  could 
conveniently  reach.  Ingrafted  on  the  stubborn  tem- 
per of  the  Englishman,  and  planted  in  the  genial  soil 
of  the  West,  the  love  of  this  civil  and  religious  liberty 
grew  up  with  a  vigor  that  time  only  served  to  strength- 
en ;  that  the  might  of  armies  vainly  strove  to  over- 
come. Thus,  ultimately,  the  persecution  under  the 
Stuarts  was  the  most  powerful  cause  ever  yet  employ- 
ed toward  the  liberation  of  man  in  his  path  through 
earth  to  heaven. 

For  many  years  England  generally  refrained  from 
interference  with  her  American  colonics  in  matters  of 
lo(\il   orovornmr'nt  or  in    rrliuion.     '^Plir'V  taxed   them 


INTRODUCTION.  Xi 

selves,  made  their  own  laws,  and  enjoyed  religious  free- 
dom in  their  own  way.  In  one  state  only,  in  Virginia, 
was  the  Church  of  England  established,  and  even  there 
it  was  accorded  very  little  help  by  the  temporal  author- 
ity :  in  a  short  time  it  ceased  to  receive  the  support  of 
a  majority  of  the  settlers,  and  rapidly  decayed.  On 
one  point,  however,  the  mother  country  claimed  and 
exacted  the  obedience  of  the  colonists  to  the  imperial 
law.  In  her  commercial  code  she  would  not  permit 
the  slightest  relaxation  in  their  favor,  whatever  the  pe- 
culiar circumstances  of  their  condition  might  be.  This 
short-sighted  and  unjust  restriction  was  borne,  partly 
because  it  could  not  be  resisted,  and  partly  because  at 
that  early  time  the  practical  evil  was  but  lightly  felt. 
Although  the  principle  of  representation  was  seldom 
specified  in  the  earlier  charters,  the  colonists  in  all 
cases  assumed  it  as  a  matter  of  right :  they  held  that 
their  privileges  as  Englishmen  accompanied  them 
wherever  they  went,  and  this  was  generally  admitted 
as  a  principle  of  colonial  policy. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  England  adopted  the  sys- 
tem of  transportation  to  the  American  colonies.  The 
felons  were,  however,  too  limited  in  numbers  to  make 
any  serious  inroad  upon  the  morals  or  tranquillity  of 
the  settlers.  Many  of  the  convicts  were  men  sentenced 
for  political  crimes,  but  free  from  any  social  taint ;  the 
laboring  population,  therefore,  did  not  regard  them  with 
contempt,  nor  shrink  from  their  society.  It  may  be 
held,  therefore,  that  this  partial  and  peculiar  system  of 
transportation  introduced  no  distinct  element  into  the 
constitution  of  the  American  nation. 

The  British  colonization  in  the  New  World  differed 
essentially  from  any  before  attempted  by  the  nations  o^ 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

modern  Europe,  and  has  led  to  results  of  immeasurable 
importance  to  mankind.  Even  the  magnificent  empire 
of  India  sinks  into  insignificance,  in  its  bearings  upon 
the  general  interests  of  the  \Yorld,  by  comparison  with 
the  Anglo-Saxon  empire  in  America.  The  success  of 
each,  however,  is  unexampled  in  history. 

In  the  great  military  and  mercantile  colony  of  the 
East  an  enormous  native  population  is  ruled  by  a  dom- 
inant race,  whose  number  amounts  to  less  than  a  four- 
thousandth  part  of  its  own,  but  whose  superiority  in 
war  and  civil  government  is  at  present  so  decided  as  to 
reduce  any  efibrts  of  opposition  to  the  mere  outbursts 
of  hopeless  petulance.  In  that  golden  land,  however, 
even  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  can  not  increase  and  mul- 
tiply ;  the  children  of  English  parents  degenerate  or 
perish  under  its  fatal  sun.  No  permanent  settlement 
or  infusion  of  blood  takes  place.  Neither  have  we  ef- 
fected any  serious  change  in  the  manners  or  customs 
of  the  East  Indians  ;  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  rath- 
er assimilated  ours  to  theirs.  We  tolerate  their  vari- 
ous religions,  and  we  learn  their  language  ;  but  in  nei- 
ther faith  nor  speech  have  they  approached  one  tittle 
toward  us.  We  have  raised  there  no  gigantic  monu- 
ment of  power  either  in  pride  or  for  utility ;  no  tem- 
ples, canals,  or  roads  remain  to  remind  posterity  of  our 
conquest  and  dominion.  Were  the  English  rule  over 
India  suddenly  cast  off,  in  a  single  generation  the  tra- 
dition of  our  Eastern  empire  would  appear  a  splendid 
but  baseless  dream,  that  of  our  administration  an  alle- 
gory, of  our  victories  a  i-omance. 

In  the  great  social  colonies  of  the  West,  the  very  es- 
sence of  vitality  is  their  close  resemblance  to  the  par- 
ent state.     Many  of  the  coarser  inlicrited  elements  of 


INTUODUCTION.  X1H 

strength  have  been  increased.  Industry  and  adventure 
have  been  stimulated  to  an  unexampled  extent  by  the 
natural  advantages  of  the  country,  and  free  institutions 
have  been  developed  almost  to  license  by  general  pros- 
perity and  the  absence  of  external  danger.  Their  sta- 
bility, in  some  one  form  or  another,  is  undoubted :  it 
rests  on  the  broadest  possible  basis — on  the  universal 
will  of  the  nation.  Our  vast  empire  in  India  rests  only 
on  the  narrow  basis #f  the  superiority  of  a  handful  of 
Englishmen ;  should  any  untoward  fate  shake  the  At- 
las strength  that  bears  the  burden,  the  superincumbent 
mass  must  fall  in  ruins  to  the  earth.  With  far  better 
cause  may  England  glory  in  the  land  of  her  revolted 
children  than  in  that  of  her  patient  slaves :  the  pros- 
perous cities  and  busy  sea-ports  of  America  are  proud- 
er memorials  of  her  race  than  the  servile  splendor  of 
Calcutta  or  the  ruined  ramparts  of  Seringapatam.  In 
the  earlier  periods  the  British  colonies  were  only  the 
reflection  of  Britain ;  in  later  days  their  light  has  served 
to -illumine  the  political  darkness  of  the  European  Con- 
tinent. The  attractive  example  of  American  democ- 
racy proved  the  most  important  cause  that  has  acted 
upon  European  society  since  the  Reformation. 

Toward  the  close  of  George  II. 's  reign  England  had 
reached  the  lowest  point  of  national  degradation  record- 
ed in  her  history.  The  disasters  of  her  fleets  and  ar- 
mies abroad  were  the  natural  fruits  of  almost  univers- 
al corruption  at  home.  The  admirals  and  generals, 
chosen  by  a  German  king  and  a  subservient  ministry, 
proved  worthy  of  the  mode  of  their  selection.  An  ob- 
sequious Parliament  served  but  to  give  the  apparent 
sanction  of  the  people  to  the  selfish  and  despotic  meas- 
ures of  the  crown.     Many  of  the  best  blood  and  of  the 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

highest  chivalry  of  the  land  still  held  loyal  devotion  to 
the  exiled  Stuarts,  while  the  mass  of  the  nation,  dis- 
gusted by  the  sordid  and  unpatriotic  acts  of  the  exist- 
ing dynasty,  regarded  it  with  sentiments  of  dislike  but 
little  removed  from  positive  hostility.  A  sullen  discon- 
tent paralyzed  the  vigor  of  England,  obstructed  her 
councils,  and  blunted  her  sword.  In  the  cabinets  of 
Europe,  among  the  colonists  of  America,  and  the  mill- 
ions of  the  East  alike,  her  once  glorious  name  had  sunk 
almost  to  a  by- word  of  reproach.  But  "  the  darkest 
hour  is  just  before  the  dawn :"  a  new  disaster,  more 
humiliating,  and  more  inexcusable  than  any  which  had 
preceded,  at  length  goaded  the  passive  indignation  of 
the  British  people  into  irresistible  action.  The  spirit 
that  animated  the  men  who  spoke  at  Runnymede,  and 
those  who  fought  on  Marston  Moor,  was  not  dead,  but 
sleeping.  The  free  institutions  which  wisdom  had  de- 
vised, time  hallowed,  and  blood  sealed,  were  evaded, 
but  not  overthrown.  The  nation  arose  as  one  man, 
and  with  a  peaceful  but  stern  determination,  demand- 
ed that  these  things  should  cease.  Then,  for  "  the 
hour,"  the  hand  of  the  All  Wise  supplied  "  the  man." 
The  light  of  Pitt's  genius,  the  fire  of  his.  patriotism, 
like  the  dawn  of  an  unclouded  morning,  soon  chased 
away  the  chilly  night  which  had  so  long  darkened  over 
the  fortunes  of  his  country. 

But  not  even  the  genius  of  the  great  minister,  aid- 
ed as  it  was  by  the  awakened  spirit  of  the  British  peo- 
ple, would  have  sufficed  to  rend  Canada  from  France 
without  the  concurrent  action  of  many  and  various 
causes  :  the  princijial  of  these  was,  doubtless,  the  extra- 
ordinary growth  of  our  American  settlements.  When 
the  first  French  colonists  founded  their  militarv  and 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

ecclesiastical  establishments  at  Quebec,  upheld  by  the 
favor  and  strengthened  by  the  arms  of  the  mother  coun- 
try, they  regarded  with  little  uneasiness  the  unaided 
efforts  of  their  English  rivals  in  the  South.  But  these 
dangerous  neighbors  rose  with  wonderful  rapidity  from 
few  to  many,  from  weak  to  powerful.  The  cloud, 
which  had  appeared  no  greater  than  "  a  man's  hand" 
on  the  political  horizon,  spread  rapidly  wider  and  wider, 
above  and  below,  till  at  length  from  out  its  threatening 
gloom  the  storm  burst  forth  which  swept  away  the  flag 
of  France. 

As  a  military  event,  the  conquest  of  Canada  was  a 
matter  of  little  or  no  permanent  importance :  it  can 
only  rank  as  one  among  the  numerous  scenes  of  blood 
that  give  an  intense  but  morbid  interest  to  our  national 
annals.  The  surrender  of  Niagara  and  Quebec  were 
but  the  acknowledgment  or  final  symbol  of  the  victory 
of  English  over  French  colonization.  For  three  years 
the  admirable  skill  of  Montcalm  and  the  valor  of  his 
troops  deferred  the  inevitable  catastrophe  of  the  colony : 
then  the  destiny  was  accomplished.  France  had  for 
that  time  played  out  her  part  in  the  history  of  the  New 
World  ;  during  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  her  threat- 
ening power  had  served  to  retain  the  English  colonies 
in  interested  loyalty  to  protecting  England.  Notwith- 
standing the  immense  material  superiority  of  the  Brit- 
ish Americans,  the  fleets  and  armies  of  the  mother 
country  were  indispensable  to  break  the  barrier  raised 
up  against  them  by  the  union,  skill,  and  courage  of 
the  French. 

Montcalm's  far-sighted  wisdom  suggested  consola- 
tion even  in  his  defeat  and  death.  In  a  remarkable 
and  almost  prophetic  letter,  which  he  addressed  to  M. 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

de  Berryer  during  the  siege  of  Quebec,  lie  foretells  that 
the  British  power  in  America  shall  be  broken  by  suc- 
cess, and  that  when  the  dread  of  France  ceases  to  ex- 
ist, the  colonists  will  no  longer  submit  to  European 
control.  One  generation  had  not  passed  away  when 
his  prediction  was  fully  accomplished.  England,  by 
the  conquest  of  Canada,  breathed  the  breath  of  life  into 
the  huge  Frankenstein  of  the  American  republic. 

The  rough  schooling  of  French  hostility  was  neces- 
sary for  the  development  of  those  qualities  among  the 
British  colonists  which  enabled  them  finally  to  break 
the  bonds  of  pupilage  and  stand  alone.  8ome  degree 
of  united  action  had  been  effected  among  the  several 
and  widely-different  states  ;  the  local  governments  had 
learned  how  to  raise  and  support  armies,  and  to  consid- 
er military  movements.  On  many  occasions  the  pro- 
vincial militia  had  borne  themselves  with  distinguish- 
ed bravery  in  the  field ;  several  of  their  officers  had 
gained  honorable  repute  ;  already  the  name  of  Wash- 
ington called  a  flush  of  pride  upon  each  American 
cheek.  The  stirring  events  of  the  contest  with  Cana- 
da had  brought  men  of  ability  and  patriotism  into  the 
.strong  light  of  active  life,  and  the  eyes  of  their  coun- 
trymen sought  their  guidance  in  trusting  confidence. 
Through  the  instrumentality  of  such  men  as  these  the 
American  Revolution  was  shaped  into  the  dignity  of  a 
national  movement,  and  preserved  from  the  threaten- 
ing evils  of  an  insane  democracy. 

The  consequences  of  the  Canadian  war  furnished  the 
cause  of  the  quarrel  which  led  to  the  separation  of  the 
great  colonies  from  the  mother  country.  England  had 
incurred  enormous  debt  in  the  contest ;  her  people 
groaned  unflcr  taxation,  and  the  wealthy  Americans 


INTRODUCTION.  XVU 

had  contributed  in  but  a  very  small  proportion  to  the 
cost  of  victories  by  which  they  were  the  principal  gain- 
ers. The  British  Parliament  devised  an  unhappy  ex- 
pedient to  remedy  this  evil:  it  assumed  the  right  of 
taxing  the  unrepresented  colonies,  and  taxed  them  ac- 
cordingly. Vain  was  the  prophetic  eloquence  of  Lord 
Chatham ;  vain  were  the  just  and  earnest  remonstran- 
ces of  the  best  and  wisest  among  the  colonists :  the 
time  was  come.  Then  followed  years  of  stubborn  and 
unyielding  strife ;  the  blood  of  the  same  race  gave 
sterner  determination  to  the  quarrel.  The  balance  of 
success  hung  equally.  Once  again  France  appeared 
upon  the  stage  in  the  Western  world,  and  La  Fayette 
revenged  the  fall  of  Montcalm. 

However  we  may  regret  the  cause  and  conduct  of 
the  Revolutionary  war,  we  can  hardly  regret  its  result. 
The  catastrophe  was  inevitable :  the  folly  or  wisdom 
of  British  statesmen  could  only  have  accelerated  or  de- 
ferred it.  The  child  had  outlived  the  years  of  pupil- 
age ;  the  interests  of  the  old  and  the  young  required  a 
separate  household.  But  we  must  ever  mourn  the 
mode  of  separation :  a  bitterness  was  left  that  three 
quarters  of  a  century  has  hardly  yet  removed  ;  and  a 
dark  page  remains  in  our  annals,  that  tells  of  a  contest 
begun  in  injustice,  conducted  with  mingled  weakness 
and  severity,  and  ended  in  defeat.  The  cause  of  hu- 
man freedom,  perhaps  for  ages,  depended  upon  the  is- 
sue of  the  quarrel.  Even  the  patriot  minister  merged 
the  apparent  interests  of  England  in  the  interests  of 
mankind.  By  the  light  of  Lord  Chatham's  wisdom 
we  may  read  the  disastrous  history  of  that  fatal  war, 
with  a  resigned  and  tempered  sorrow  for  the  glorious 
inheritance  rent  away  from  us  forever. 


XVIU  INTRODUCTION. 

The  reaction  of  the  New  World  upon  the  Old  may 
be  distinctly  traced  through  the  past  and  the  present, 
but  human  wisdom  may  not  estimate  its  influence  on 
the  future.  The  lessons  of  freedom  learned  by  the 
French  army  while  aiding  the  revolted  colonies  against 
England  were  not  forgotten.  On  their  return  to  their 
native  country,  they  spread  abroad  tidings  that  the 
new  people  of  America  had  gained  a  treasure  richer  a 
thousand-fold  than  those  which  had  gilded  the  triumphs 
of  Cortes  or  Pizarro — the  inestimable  prize  of  liberty. 
Then  the  down-trampled  millions  of  France  arose,  and 
with  avaricious  haste  strove  for  a  like  treasure.  They 
-won  a  specious  imitation,  so  soiled  and  stained,  how- 
ever, that  many  of  the  wisest  among  them  could  not  at 
once  detect  its  nature.  They  played  with  the  coarse 
bawble  for  a  time,  then  lost  it  in  a  sea  of  blood. 

Doubtless  the  tempest  that  broke  upon  France  had 
long  been  gathering.  The  rays  that  emanated  from 
such  false  suns  as  Voltaire  and  Rousseau  had  already 
drawn  up  a  moral  miasma  from  the  swamps  of  sensual 
ignorance  :  under  the  shade  of  a  worthless  government 
these  noxious  mists  collected  into  the  clouds  from 
whence  the  desolating  storm  of  the  Revolution  burst. 
It  was,  however,  the  example  of  popular  success  in  the 
New  World,  and  the  republican  training  of  a  portion 
of  the  French  army  during  the  American  contest,  that 
finally  accelerated  the  course  of  events.  A  generation 
before  tlie  "  Declaration  of  Independence"  the  struggle 
between  the  rival  systems  of  Canada  and  New  En- 
gland liad  been  watched  by  thinking  men  in  Europe 
witli  deep  interest,  and  the  importance  to  mankind  of 
its  issue  was  fully  felt.  While  France  mourned  the 
defeat  of  her  armies  and  the  loss  of  her  magnificent 


IN'J'RODUCTIOX,  XIX 


colony,  the  keen-sighted  philosopher  of  Ferney  gave  a 
banquet  to  celebrate  the  British  triumph  at  Quebec, 
not  as  the  triumph  of  England  over  France,  but  as 
that  of  freedom  over  despotism.* 

The  overthrow  of  French  by  British  power  in  Amer- 
ica was  not  the  efiect  of  mere  military  superiority. 
The  balance  of  general  success  and  glory  in  the  field 
is  no  more  than  shared  with  the  conquered  people. 
The  morbid  national  vanity,  which,  finds  no  delight  but 
in  the  triumphs  of  the  sword,  will  shrink  from  the 
study  of  this  checkered  story.  The  narrative  of  disas- 
trous defeat  and  doubtful  advantage  must  be  endured 
before  we  arrive  at  that  of  the  brilliant  victory  which 
crowned  our  arms  with  final  success.  We  read  with 
painful  surprise  of  the  rout  and  ruin  of  regular  British 
regiments  by  a  crowd  of  Indian  savages,  and  of  the 
bloody  repulse  of  the  most  numerous  army  that  had 
yet  assembled  round  our  standards  in  America  before  a 
few  weak  French  battalions  and  an  unfinished  parapet. 

For  the  first  few  years  our  prosecution  of  the  Cana- 
dian war  was  marked  by  a  weakness  little  short  of  im- 
becility. The  conduct  of  the  troops  was  indifferent, 
the  tactics  of  the  generals  bad,  and  the  schemes  of  the 
minister  worse.  The  coarse  but  powerful  wit  of  Smol- 
lett and  Fielding,  and  the  keen  sarcasms  of  "  Chrysal," 
convey  to  us  no  very  exalted  idea  of  the  composition 
of  the  British  army  in  those  days.  The  service  had 
sunk  into  contempt.  The  withering  influence  of  a  cor- 
rupt patronage  had  demoralized  the  officers ;  success- 
ive defeats,  incurred  through  the  inefficiency  of  courtly 
generals,  had  depressed  the  spirit  of  the  soldiery,  and, 
were  it  not  for  the  proof  shown  upon  the  bloody  fields 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  I. 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

of  La  Feldt  and  Fontenoy,  we  might  almost  suppose 
that  EngUsh  manhood  had  become  an  empty  name. 

Many  of  the  battaUons  shipped  off  to  take  part  in 
the  American  contest  were  hasty  levies  without  organ- 
ization or  discipline :  the  colonel,  a  man  of  influence, 
with  or  without  other  qualifications,  as  the  case  might 
be  ;  the  officers,  his  neighbors  and  dependents.  These 
armed  mobs  found  themselves  suddenly  landed  in  a 
country,  the  natural  difhculty  of  which  would  of  itself 
have  proved  a  formidable  obstacle,  even  though  unen- 
hanced  by  the  presence  of  an  active  and  vigilant  ene- 
my. At  the  same  time,  there  devolved  upon  them  the 
duties  and  the  responsibihties  of  regular  troops.  A  due 
consideration  of  these  circumstances  tends  to  diminish 
the  surprise  which  a  comparison  of  their  achievements 
with  those  recorded  in  our  later  military  annals  might 
create. 

Very  different  were  the  ranks  of  the  American  army 
from  the  magnificent  regiments  whose  banners  now 
bear  the  crowded  records  of  Peninsular  and  Indian  vic- 
tory ;  who,  wdthin  the  recollection  of  living  men,  have 
stood  as  conquerors  upon  every  hostile  land,  yet  never 
once  permitted  a  stranger  to  tread  on  England's  sacred 
soil  but  as  a  prisoner,  fugitive,  or  friend.  In  Cairo 
and  Copenhagen ;  in  Lisbon,  INIadrid,  and  Paris ;  in 
the  ancient  metropolis  of  Chma ;  in  the  capital  of  the 
young  American  republic,  the  Briti.sh  flag  has  been 
hailed  as  the  symbol  of  a  triumphant  power  or  of  a 
generous  deliverance.  Well  may  we  cherish  an  honest 
pride  in  the  prowess  and  military  virtue  of  our  soldiers, 
loyal  alike  to  the  crown  and  to  the  people;  facing  in 
battle,  with  unshaken  courage,  the  deadly  shot  and 
sweeping  charge,  and,  with  a  still  loftier  valor,  endur- 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

ing,  in  times  of  domestic  troubles,  the  gibes  and  in- 
juries of  their  misguided  countrymen. 

In  the  stirring  interest  excited  by  the  progress  and 
rivalry  of  our  kindred  races  in  America,  the  sad  and 
solemn  subject  of  the  Indian  people  is  almost  forgotten. 
The  mysterious  decree  of  Providence  which  has  swept 
them  away  may  not  be  judged  by  human  wisdom. 
Their  existence  will  soon  be  of  the  past.  They  have 
left  no  permanent  impression  on  the  constitution  of 
the  great  nation  which  now  spreads  over  their  country. 
No  trace  of  their  blood,  language,  or  manners  may  be 
found  among  their  haughty  successors.  As  certainly 
as  their  magnificent  forests  fell  before  the  advancing 
tide  of  civilization,  they  fell  also.  Neither  the  kind- 
ness nor  the  cruelty  of  the  white  man  arrested  or  hast- 
ened their  inevitable  fate.  They  withered  alike  under 
the  Upas-shade  of  European  protection  and  before  the 
deadly  storm  of  European  hostility.  As  the  snow  in 
spring  they  melted  away,  stained,  tainted,  trampled 
down. 

The  closing  scene  of  French  dominion  in  Canada 
was  marked  by  circumstances  of  deep  and  peculiar  in- 
terest. The  pages  of  romance  can  furnish  no  more 
striking  episode  than  the  battle  of  Quebec.  The  skill 
and  daring  of  the  plan  which  brought  on  the  combat, 
and  the  success  and  fortune  of  its  execution,  are  unpar- 
alleled. There  a  broad,  open  plain,  offering  no  advant- 
ages to  either  party,  was  the  field  of  fight.  The  con- 
tending armies  were  nearly  equal  in  military  strength, 
if  not  in  numbers.  The  chiefs  of  each  were  men  al- 
ready of  honorable  fame.  France  trusted  firmly  in  the 
wise  and  chivalrous  Montcalm  ;  England  trusted  hope- 
fully in  the  young  and  heroic  Wolfe.     The  magnificent 


XXU  IXTRODUCTIOV. 

strong-hold  which  was  staked  upon  the  issue  of  the 
strife  stood  close  at  hand.  For  miles  and  miles  around, 
the  prospect  extended  over  as  fair  a  land  as  ever  re- 
joiced the  sight  of  man ;  mountain  and  valley,  forest 
and  waters,  city  and  solitude,  grouped  together  in  forms 
of  almost  ideal  beauty. 

The  strife  was  brief,  but  deadly.  The  September 
sun  rose  upon  two  gallant  armies  arrayed  in  unbroken 
pride,  and  noon  of  the  same  day  saw  the  ground  where 
they  had  stood  strewn  with  the  dying  and  the  dead. 
Hundreds  of  the  veterans  of  France  had  fallen  in  the 
ranks,  from  which  they  disdained  to  fly  ;  the  scene  of 
his  ruin  faded  fast  from  Montcalm's  darkening  sight, 
but  the  proud  consciousness  of  having  done  his  duty 
deprived  defeat  and  death  of  their  severest  sting.  Not 
more  than  a  musket-shot  away  lay  Wolfe ;  the  heart 
that  but  an  hour  before  had  throbbed  with  great  and 
generous  impulse,  now  still  forever.  On  the  face  of 
the  dead  there  rested  a  triumphant  smile,  which  the 
last  agony  had  not  overcast ;  a  light  of  unfailing  hope, 
that  the  shadows  of  the  grave  could  not  darken. 

The  portion  of  history  here  recorded  is  no  fragment. 
Within  a  period  comparatively  brief,  we  see  the  birth, 
the  gi-owth,  and  the  catastrophe  of  a  nation.  The  flag 
of  France  is  erected  at  Quebec  by  a  handful  of  hardy 
adventurers ;  a  century  and  a  half  has  passed,  and  that 
flag  is  lowered  to  a  foreign  foe  before  the  sorrowing 
eyes  of  a  Canadian  people.  This  example  is  complete 
as  that  presented  in  the  life  of  an  individual :  we  see 
the  natural  sequence  of  events  ;  the  education  and  the 
character,  the  motivtj  and  the  action,  the  error  and  the 
punishment.  Through  the  following  records  may  be 
clearly  traced  combinations  of  cau.ses,  remote,  and  even 


INTRODUCTIOiV.  XXIU 

apparently  opposed,  uniting  in  one  result,  and  also  the 
surprising  fertility  of  one  great  cause  in  producing 
many  different  results. 

Were  we  to  read  the  records  of  history  by  the  light 
of  the  understanding  instead  of  by  the  fire  of  the  pas- 
sions, the  study  could  be  productive  only  of  unmixed 
good ;  their  examples  and  warnings  would  afford  us 
constant  guidance  in  the  paths  of  public  and  private 
virtue.  The  narrow  and  unreasonable  notion  of  exclu- 
sive national  merit  can  not  survive  a  fair  glance  over 
the  vast  map  of  time  and  space  which  history  lays  be- 
fore us.  We  may  not  avert  our  eyes  from  those  darlc 
spots  upon  the  annals  of  our  beloved  land  where  acts 
of  violence  and  injustice  stand  recorded  against  her,  nor 
may  we  suffer  the  blaze  of  military  renown  to  dazzle 
our  judgment.  Victory  may  bring  glory  to  the  arms, 
while  it  brings  shame  to  the  councils  of  a  people ;  for 
the  triumphs  of  war  are  those  of  the  general  and  the 
soldier  ;  increase  of  honor,  wisdom,  and  prosperity  are 
the  triumphs  of  the  nation. 

The  citizens  of  Rome  placed  the  images  of  their  an- 
cestors in  the  vestibule,  to  recall  the  virtues  of  the  dead, 
and  to  stimulate  the  emulation  of  the  living.  We  also 
should  fix  our  thoughts  upon  the  examples  which  his- 
tory presents,  not  in  a  vain  spirit  of  selfish  nationality, 
but  in  earnest  reverence  for  the  great  and  good  of  all 
countries,  and  a  contempt  for  the  false,  and  mean,  and 
cruel  even  of  our  own. 


THE 


CONQUEST    OF    CANADA 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  philosophers  of  remote  antiquity  acquired  the  im- 
portant knowledge  of  the  earth's  spherical  form";  to  their 
bold  genius  we  are  indebted  for  the  outline  of  the  geographic- 
al system  now  universally  adopted.  With  a  vigorous  con- 
ception, but  imperfect  execution,  they  traced  out  the  scheme 
of  denoting  localities  by  longitude  and  latitude  :  according  to 
their  teaching,  the  imaginary  equatorial  line,  encompassing 
the  earth,  was  divided  into  hours  and  degrees. 

Even  at  that  distant  period  hardy  adventurers  had  pene- 
trated far  away  into  the  land  of  the  rising  sun,  and  many  a 
wondrous  tale  was  told  of  that  mysterious  empire,  where  one 
third  of  our  fellow-men  still  stand  apart  from  the  brother- 
hood of  nations.  Among  the  various  and  astounding  ex- 
aggerations induced  by  the  vanity  of  the  narrators,  and  the 
ignorance  of  their  audience,  none  was  more  ready  than  that 
of  distance.  The  journey,  the  labor  of  a  life  ;  each  league 
of  travel  a  new  scene  ;  the  day  crowded  Avith  incident,  the 
night  a  dream  of  terror  or  admiration.  Then,  as  the  fickle 
will  of  the  wanderer  suggested,  as  the  difficulties  or  en- 
couragement of  nature,  and  the  hostility  or  aid  of  man  im- 
pelled, the  devious  course  bent  to  the  north  or  south,  was 
hastened,  hindered,  or  retraced. 

By  such  vague  and  shadowy  measurement  as  the  specu- 
lations of  these  wanderers  supplied,  the  sages  of  the  past 
traced  out  the  ideal  limits  of  the  dry  land  which,  at  the 
VOL.  I. — B 


26  THE  COXUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

word  of  God,  appeared  from  out  the  gathering  together  of 
the  waters.* 

The  most  eminent  geographer  before  the  time  of  Ptolemy 
places  the  confines  of  Seres — the  China  of  to-day — at  nearly 
two  thirds  of  tlie  distance  round  the  world,  from  the  first 
meridian.!      Ptolemy  reduces   the   proportion   to  one   half. 

*  "  La  spliericite  de  la  terre  etant  reconnue,  retenduc  de  la  terre 
habitee  en  longitude  determine,  en  raerae  temps  la  largeur  de  I'Atlan- 
tique  entre  les  cotes  occidentales  d"Europe  et  d'Afrique  et  les  cotes 
orientales  d'Asie  par  differens  degres  de  latitude.  Eratosthene  (Stra- 
bo,  ii.,  p.  87.  Cas.)  evalue  la  circonrerence  de  I'equateur  a  252,000 
stades,  et  la  largeur  de  la  cldamyde  du  Cap  Sacre  (Cap  Saint  Vincent) 
a  I'extremife  de  la  grande  ceinture  de  Taurus,  pres  de  Thinje  a  70,000 
stades.  En  prolongeant  la  distance  vers  le  sud  est  jusque  au  cap  des 
Coliaque.s  qui,  dapres  les  idees  de  Strabon  sur  la  configuration  de 
I'Asie,  represente  notre  Cap  Comorin,  et  avance  plus  a  Test  que  la 
cote  de  Thinse,  la  combinaison  des  donnces  d'Eratosthene  ofTre  74,600 
et  raeme  78,000  stades.  Or,  en  reduisant,  par  la  difl'crence  de  lati- 
tude, le  pcriraetre  equatorial  au  parallele  dc  Rhodes,  des  portes  Cas- 
piennes  et  de  Thinae  c'est  a  dire,  au  parallele  de  36°  0'  et  non  de  36° 
21',  on  trouve  203,872  stades,  et  pour  largeur  de  la  terre  habitee,  par 
le  parallele  de  Rhodes,  67,500  stades.  Strabon  dit  par  consequence 
avec  justesse,  dans  le  fameux  passage  ou  il  senible  prcdire  lexistence 
du  Xouveau  Continent,  en  parlant  de  deux  terres  habitees  dans  la 
mcme  zone  temperee  borcale  que  les  terres  occupent  plus  du  tiers  de 
la  circonfcrence  du  parallele  qui  passe  par  Thina;.  Par  cette  suppo- 
sition la  distance  dc  riberie  aux  Indes  est  au  dela  de  236-^  a  peu  pres 
240^.  Ou  pcut  etre  surpris  de  voir  que  le  resultat  le  plus  ancien  est 
aussi  le  plus  exact  de  tous  ccux  que  nous  trouvons  en  descendant 
d'Eratosthene  par  Posidonius  aux  temps  de  ]Marin  de  Tyr  ct  dc  Ptol- 
emec.  La  terre  habitue  oflre  eflcctivement,  d'aprcs  nos  connoissances 
actuelle-s,  entre  les  36^  et  37°  130  degres  d'etendue  en  longitude  ;  il 
y  a  par  consequent  des  cotes  de  la  Chine  au  Cap  Sacre  a  travers 
I'ocean  de  Test  a  I'ouest  230  degres.  L'accord  que  jc  nommerai  ac- 
cidentel  de  cette  vraie  distance  et  de  revaluation  d'Eratosthene  atteint 
done  dix  degres  en  longitude.  Posidonius  '  soupfonne  (c'est  Texpres- 
sion  dc  Strabon,  lib.  ii.,  p.  102,  Cas.),  que  la  longueur  de  la  terre 
habitee  laquellc  est,  selon  lui,  dcnviron  70,000  stades,  doit  former  la 
moitie  du  ccrcle  cntier  sur  lequel  le  nicsurc  se  prend,  ct  qu'  ainsi  a 
partir  de  I'extrcmitc  occidentalc  de  cette  meme  terre  habitee,  en  navi- 
guant  avec  un  vent  d'est  continucl  I'cspace  de  70.000  autres  stades, 
ou  arriverait  dans  I'Inde."' — Humboldt's  Gcographie  du  Noiiveau  Con- 
tinent. 

t  "  La  longueur  de  la  terre  habitee  comprise  entre  les  meridiens 
des  lies  Forlunces  et  de  Sera  ctoit.  d'apres  Marin  dc  Tyr  (Ptol.,  Geogr., 
lib.  i.,  cap.  11)  de  15  heures  oil  de  225°.     C'etoit  avancer  les  cotes 


Till:  coNauEsr  of  canaua.  27 

Allowing  for  the  supposed  vast  extent  of  this  unknown 
country  to  the  eastward,  it  was  evident  that  its  remotest 
shores  approached  our  Western  World.  But,  beyond  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  the  dark  and  stormy  waters  of  the 
Atlantic*  forbade  adventure.      The   giant   minds  of  those 

de  la  Chine  ju.squ'au  meridicn  des  iles  Sandwich,  et  reduire  I'espace 
a  parcourir  des  ilcs  Canaries  aux  cotes  orientales  de  I'Asie  a  135", 
erreur  de  86°  en  longitude.  La  grande  extension  de  23^^°  que  les 
anciens  donnoient  a  la  mer  Caspienne,  contribuoit  cgalemcnt  beaucoup 
a  augmenter  la  largeur  de  I'Asie.  Ptolemee  a  laissc  intacte,  dans 
revaluation  de  la  terre  habitee,  selon  Posidonius,  la  distance  des  lies 
Fortunees  au  passage  de  I'Euphrate  a  Hierapolis.  Les  reductions  de 
Ptolemee  ne  portent  que  sur  les  distances  de  I'Euphrate  a  la  Tour  de 
Pierre  et  de  cette  tour  a  la  nietropole  des  Seres.  Les  225°  de  Ma- 
rin de  Tyr  deviennent,  selon  1' Almagest  (lib.  ii.,  p.  1)  180°,  selon  la 
Geographic  de  Ptolemee  (lib.  i.,  p.  12)  177|°.  Les  cotes  des  Sinae^ 
reculent  done  du  meridien  des  lies  Sandwich  vers  celui  des  Carolines 
orientales,  et  I'espace  a  parcourir  par  mer  en  longitude  n'etoit  plus 
de  135°,  mais  de  180°  a  182|°.  II  etoit  dans  les  interets  de  Chris- 
tophe  Colomb  de  preferer  de  beaucoup  les  calculs  de  Marin  de  Tyr  a 
ceux  de  Ptolemee  et  a  force  dc  conjectures  Colomb  parvient  a  restrein- 
dre  I'espace  de  I'Ocean  qui  lui  restait  a  traverser  des  iles  du  cap  Vert  au 
Cathay  dc  I'Asie  orientale  a  128°"  {Vida  del  Almirante) . — Humboldt's 
Geographie  du  Nouveau  Continent,  vol.  ii.,  p.  364. 

*  That  the  vast  waters  of  the  Atlantic  were  regarded  with  "  awe 
and  wonder,  seeming  to  bound  the  world  as  with  a  chaos,"  needs  no 
greater  proof  than  the  description  given  of  it  by  Xerif  al  Edrizi,  an 
eminent  Arabian  writer,  whose  countrymen  were  the  boldest  naviga- 
tors of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  possessed  all  that  was  then  known  of 
geography.  "The  ocean,"  he  observes,  "encii-cles  the  ultimate 
bounds  of  the  inhabited  earth,  and  all  beyond  it  is  unknown.  No  one 
has  been  able  to  verify  any  thing  concerning  it,  on  account  of  its  diffi- 
cult and  perilous  navigation,  its  great  obscurity,  its  profound  depth, 
and  frequent  tempests ;  through  fear  of  its  mighty  fishes  and  its 
haughty  winds  ;  yet  there  are  many  islands  in  it,  some  peopled,  others 
uninhabited.  There  is  no  mariner  who  dares  to  enter  into  its  deep 
waters ;  or  if  any  have  done  so,  they  have  merely  kept  along  its 
coasts,  fearful  of  departing  from  them.  The  waves  of  this  ocean, 
though  they  roll  as  high  as  mountains,  yet  maintain  themselves  with- 
out breaking  ;  for  if  they  broke  it  would  be  impossible  for  ship  to  plow 
them." — Description  of  Spain,  by  Xerif  al  Edrizi :  Condcs  Spanish 
translation.     Madrid,  1799. — Quoted  by  Washington  Irving. 

'  In  opposition  to  the  opinion  of  Malte  Brun  and  M.  de  Josselin,  Mr.  Hugh  Murray 
is  considered  to  have  satisfactorily  proved  the  correctness  of  Ptolemy's  assertion 
that  the  Seres  or  Sinaa  are  identical  with  the  Chinese. — See  Trans,  of  the  Royal  So- 
ciety of  Edinburgh,  vol.  viii ,  p.  171. 


28  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

days  saw,  even  through  the  mists  of  ignorance  and  error, 
that  the  readiest  course  to  reach  this  distant  land  must  lie 
toward  the  setting  sun,  across  the  western  ocean.*  From 
over  this  vast  watery  solitude  no  traveler  had  ever  brought 
back  the  story  of  his  wanderings.  The  dim  light  of  tra- 
ditionary memory  gave  no  guiding  ray,  the  faint  voice  of 
rumor  breathed  not  its  mysterious  secrets.  Then  poetic 
imagination  filled  the  void  ;  vast  islands  were  conjured  up 
out  of  the  deep,  covered  with  unheard-of  luxuriance  of  vege- 
tation, rich  in  mines  of  incalculable  value,  populous  with  a 
race  of  conquering  warriors.  But  this  magnificent  vision 
was  only  created  to  be  destroyed  ;  a  violent  earthquake  rent 
asunder  in  a  day  and  a  night  the  foundations  of  Atlantis, 
and  the  waters  of  the  Western  Ocean  swept  over  the  ruins  of 
this  once  mighty  empire.!     In  after  ages  we  are  told,  that 

*  Aristotle,  Strabo,  Pliny,  and  Seneca  arrived  at  this  conclusion. 
The  idea,  however,  of  an  intervening  continent  never  appears  to  have 
suggested  itself. — Humboldt's  Cosmos. 

t  In  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  over  against  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  lay 
an  island  larger  than  Asia  and  Africa  taken  together,  and  in  its  vicin- 
ity were  other  islands.  The  ocean  in  which  these  islands  were  situ- 
ated was  surrounded  on  every  side  by  main-land ;  and  the  Mediterra- 
nean, compared  with  it,  resembled  a  mere  harbor  or  narrow  entrance. 
Nine  thousand  years  before  the  time  of  Plato  this  island  of  Atlantis 
was  both  thickly  settled  and  very  powerful.  Its  sway  extended  over 
Africa  as  far  as  Egjpt,  and  over  Europe  as  far  as  the  Tyrrhenian 
Sea.  The  further  progre.ss  of  its  conquests,  however,  was  checked 
by  the  Athenians,  who,  partly  with  the  other  Greeks,  partly  by  them- 
selves, succeeded  in  defeating  these  powerful  invaders,  the  natives  of 
Atlantis.  After  this  a  violent  earth([uake,  which  lasted  for  the  space 
of  a  day  and  a  night,  and  was  accompanied  with  inundations  of  the 
sea,  caused  the  islands  to  sink ;  and  for  a  long  period  subsequent  to 
this,  the  sea  in  that  quarter  was  impassable  liy  reason  of  the  slime  and 
shoals.  —  Plato,  Tim.,  24-29,  290;  Crit.,  108-110,  39,4*3.  The 
learned  Gessner  is  of  opinion  that  the  Isle  of  Ceres,  spoken  of  in  a 
poem  of  very  high  anticiuity,  attributed  to  Orpheus,  was  a  fragment  of 
Atlantis.  Kirchcr,  in  his  "'  JNIundus  Subterrancus,"  and  Beckman,  in 
his  "History  of  Islands,"  suppose  the  Atlantis  to  have  been  an  island 
extending  from  the  Canaries  to  the  Azores;  that  it  was  really  in- 
gulfed in  one  of  the  convulsions  of  the  globe,  and  that  those  small 
islands  are  mere  fragments  of  it.  Gosselin,  in  his  able  research  into 
the  voyages  of  the  ancients,  supposes  the  Atlantis  of  Plato  to  have 
been  nothing  more  nor  less  than  one  of  the  nearest  of  the  Canaries, 
viz.,  Fortaventura  or  Lanccrote.     Carli  and  manv  others  find  America 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  29 

some  Phoenician  vessels,  impelled  by  a  strong  east  wind,  wore 
driven  for  thirty  days  across  the  Atlantic  :  there  they  found 
a  part  of  the  sea  where  the  surface  was  covered  with  rushes 
and  sea- weed,  somewhat  resembling  a  vast  inundated  mead- 
ow.* The  voyagers  ascribed  these  strange  appearances  to 
some  cause  connected  with  the  submerged  Atlantis,  and 
even  in  later  years  they  were  held  by  many  as  confirmation, 
of  Plato's  marvelous  story. f 

In  the  Carthaginian  annals  is  found  the  mention  of  a  fer- 
tile and  beautiful  island  of  the  distant  Atlantic.  Many  ad- 
venturous men  of  that  maritime  people  were  attracted  thither 
by  the  delightful  climate  and  the  riches  of  the  soil  ;  it  was 
deemed  of  such  value  and  importance  that  they  proposed  to 
transfer  the  seat  of  their  republic  to  its  shores  in  case  of  any 

in  the  Atlantis,  and  adduce  many  plausible  arguments  in  support  of 
their  assertion. — Carli,  Letters  Jtmer. ;  Fr.  transl.,  ii.,  180.  M.  Bailly, 
in  his  "  Letters  sur  I'Atlantide  de  Platen,"  maintains  the  existence  of 
the  Atlantides,  and  their  island  Atlantis,  by  the  authorities  of  Homer, 
Sanchoniathon,  and  Diodorus  Siculus,  in  addition  to  that  of  Plato. 
Manheim  maintains  very  strenuously  that  Plato's  Atlantis  is  Sweden 
and  Norway.  M.  Bailly,  after  citing  many  ancient  testimonies,  which 
concur  in  placing  this  famous  isle  in  the  north,  quotes  that  of  Plutarch, 
who  confirms  these  testimonies  by  a  circumstantial  description  of  the 
Isle  of  Ogygia,  or  the  Atlantis,  which  he  represents  as  situated  in  the 
north  of  Europe.  The  following  is  the  theory  of  Buffon  :  after  citing 
the  passage  relating  to  the  Atlantis,  from  Plato's  "  Timseus,"  he  adds, 
"  This  ancient  tradition  is  not  devoid  of  probability.  The  lands  swal- 
lowed up  by  the  waters  were,  perhaps,  those  w'hich  united  Ireland  to 
the  Azores,  and  the  Azor^  to  the  Continent  of  America;  for  in  Ire- 
land there  are  the  same  fossils,  the  same  shells,  and  the  same  sea 
bodies  as  appear  in  America,  and  some  of  them  are  found  in  no  other 
part  of  Europe." — BufTon's  Nat.  Hist.,  by  Smellie,  vol.  i.,  p.  507. 

*  The  first  authentic  description  of  the  Mar  di  Sargasso  of  Aris- 
totle is  due  to  Columbus.  It  spreads  out  between  the  nineteenth  and 
thirty-fourth  degrees  of  north  latitude.  Its  chief  axis  lies  about  seven 
degrees  to  the  westward  of  the  Island  of  Corvo.  The  smaller  bank, 
on  the  other  hand,  lies  between  the  Bermudas  and  Bahamas.  The 
winds  and  partial  currents  in  difl^erent  years  slightly  aflect  the  position 
and  extent  of  these  Atlantic  "  sea-weed  meadows."  No  other  sea  in 
either  hemisphere  displays  a  similar  extent  of  surface  covered  by 
plants  collected  in  this  way.  These  meadows  of  the  ocean  present 
the  wonderful  spectacle  of  a  collection  of  plants  covering  a  space 
nearly  seven  times  as  large  as  France. — Humboldt's  Cosmos. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  II. 


30  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

irreparable  disaster  at  home.  But  at  length  the  Senate,  fear- 
ing the  evils  of  a  divided  state,  denounced  the  distant  colo- 
ny, and  decreed  the  punishment  of  death  to  those  who  sought 
it  for  a  home.  If  there  be  any  truth  in  this  ancient  tale,  it 
is  probable  that  one  of  the  Canary  Islands  was  its  subject.* 

*  See  Aristotle,  De  Mirab.  Auscult.,  cap.  Ixxxiv.,  84,  p.  836,  Bekk. 
This  work,  "A  Colleelion  of  Wonderful  Narratives,"  is  attributed  to 
Aristotle  ;  the  real  compiler  is  unknown.  According  to  Humboldt,  it 
seems  to  have  been  written  before  the  first  Punic  war. — Diodorus  of 
Sicily,  vol.  xix.  Aristotle  attributes  the  discovery  of  the  island  to  the 
Carthaginians ;  Diodorus  to  the  Phccnicians.  The  occurrence  is  said 
to  have  taken  place  in  the  earliest  times  of  the  Tyrrhenian  dominion 
of  the  sea,  during  the  contest  between  the  Tyrrhenian  Pelasgi  and  the 
Phoenicians.  The  Island  of  the  Seven  Cities  (see  Appendix,  No.  II.) 
was  identified  with  the  island  mentioned  by  Aristotle  as  having  been 
discovered  by  the  Carthaginians,  and  was  inserted  in  the  early  maps 
under  the  name  of  Antilla.  Paul  Toscanclli,  the  celebrated  physician 
of  Florence,  thus  writes  to  Columbus  :  "  From  the  Island  of  Antilia, 
which  you  call  the  Seven  Cities,  and  of  which  }'ou  have  some  knowl- 
edge," &c.  In  the  Aliddle  Ages  conjectures  were  religiously  inscribed 
upon  the  maps,  as  is  proved  by  Antilia,  St.  Borondon  (see  Appendix), 
the  Hand  of  Satan,  Green  Island,  Maida  Island,  and  the  exact  form  of 
vast  southern  regions.  Humboldt  refers  the  name  of  Antilia  so  far 
back  as  the  fourteenth  century.  The  earliest  date  given  by  Ferdinand 
Columbus  is  1436.  "  Beyond  the  Azores,  but  at  no  great  distance  to- 
ward the  west,  occurs  the  Ysola  de  Antilia,  which  wc  may  conclude, 
even  allowing  the  date  of  the  map  to  be  genuine  (in  the  library  of  St. 
Mark,  at  Venice,  date  1436),  to  be  a  mere  gratuitous  or  theoretic  sup- 
position, and  to  have  received  that  strange  name  because  the  obvious 
and  natural  idea  of  antipodes  has  been  anathematized  by  Catholic  ig- 
norance." He  elsewhere-  says  that '"  some  Portuguese  cosmographers 
have  inserted  the  island  described  by  Aristotle  in  maps  under  the  name 
of  Antilia." — Hisl.  of  the  Discovery  of  America^  by  Don  Ferdinand 
Columbus,  in  Kcr,  vol.  iii.,  p.  3—29. 

The  origin  of  the  name  Antilla,  or  Antilia,  is  still  a  matter  of  con- 
jecture. Humboldt  attributes  to  a  "litterateur  distingue"  the  solu- 
tion of  the  enigma,  from  a  passage  in  Aristotle's  "  De  Mundo,"  which 
speaks  of  the  proljable  existence  of  unknown  lands  opposite  to  the  mass 
of  continents  which  we  inhabit.  "  These  countries,  be  they  small  or 
great,  whoso  shores  arc  opposed  to  ours,  were  marked  out  by  the  word 
jiorthornoi,  which  in  the  Middle  Ages  was  translated  by  antinsulcB.^^ 
Humboldt  says  that  this  translation  is  totally  incorrect ;  however,  the 
idea  of  the  '•litterateur  distingue"  is  evidently  the  same  as  Ferdinand 
Columbus's.  The  following  is  tiie  hypothesis  favored  by  Humboldt : 
"  Peut-etre  raerae  le  nora  d"  Antilia  qui  ])arait  jiour  la  premiere  fois 
sat  une  carte  Vcnilicnne  de  1436  nest  il  qu'une  forme  Portuguaise 


THE  coNauEST  or  canada.         31 

Although  the  New  World  in.  the  West  was  unknown  to 
the  ancients,  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  entertained  a  sus- 
picion of"  its  existence  ;*  the  romance  of  Plato — the  prophe- 
cy of  Seneca,  were  but  the  ofisprings  of  this  vague  idea. 
Many  writers  tell  us  it  was  conjectured  that,  by  sailing  from 
the  coast  of  Spain,  the  eastern  shores  of  India  might  be  reach- 

donnee  a  un  nom  geographique  des  Arabes.  L'etymologie  que  ha- 
sarde  M.  Buace  me  parait  tres  ingenieuse.  .  .  La  syllabe  initiale  me 
parait  la  corruption  de  Tarticle  Arabe.  D'al  Tinnin  et  d'Al  tin  on 
aura  fait  peu  a  peu  Antiuna  et  Antilla,  comme  par  un  deplacement 
analogue  de  consonnes,  les  Espagnols  ont  fait  de  crocodilo,  corcodilo 
et  cocodrilo.  Le  Dragon  est  al  Tin,  et  I'Antilia  est  pcut-etre,  I'lle 
des  dragons  marins." — Humboldt's  Ex.  Crit.,  vol.  ii.,  211. 

Oviedo  applies  the  relation  of  Aristotle  to  the  Hesperian  Islands, 
and  asserts  that  they  were  the  "India"  discovered  by  Columbus.  "  Per- 
che  egli  (Colombo)  conobbe  come  era  in  effetto  che  quesfe  terre  che 
egli  ben  ritrovava  scritte,  erano  del  tutto  uscite  dalla  memoria  degli 
uomin ;  e  io  per  me  non  dubito  che  .si  sapissero,  e  possedessero  antica- 
mente  dalli  Re  de  Spagna :  e  voglio  qui  dire  quelle  che  Aristotele  in 
questo  caso  ne  scrisse,  &c.  .  .  .  io  tengo  che  queste  Indie  siano  quelle 
autiche  e  famose  Isole  Hesperide  cose  dette  da  Hcspero  1 2  Re  di  Spag- 
na. Or  come  la  Spagna  e  I'ltalia  tolsero  il  nome  da  Hespero  12  Re 
di  Spagna  cosi  anco  da  questo  istesso  ex  torsero  queste  isole  Hesperi- 
di,  che  noi  diciamo,  ondc  scnza  alcun  dubbio  si  de  tenere,  che  in  quel 
tempe  questo  isole  sotto  la  signoria  della  Spagna  stessero,  e  .sotto  un 
medesmo  Re,  che  fu  (come  Beroso  dice)  1658  anni  prima  che  il  nos- 
tro  Salvatore  nascesse.  E  perche  al  presente  siamo  nel  1535  della 
salute  nostra,  ne  segue  che  siano  ora  tre  milo  o  cento  novantatre  anni 
che  la  Spagna  e'l  suo  Re  Hespero  signoreggiavano  queste  Indie  o 
Isole  Hesperidi.  E  come  cosa  sua  par  che  abbia  la  divina  giustizia 
voluto  ritornargliele." — Hist.  Gen.  dclV  Indie  de  Gonzalo  Fernando 
d'' Oviedo,  in  Ramusio,  torn,  iii.,  p.  80. 

*  "It  is  very  possible  that  in  the  same  temperate  zone,  and  almost 
in  the  same  latitude  as  Thinse  (or  Athens?),  where  it  crosses  the  At- 
lantic Ocean,  there  are  inhabited  worlds,  distinct  from  that  in  which 
we  dwell."' — Strabo,  lib.  i.,  p.  65,  and  lib.  ii.,  p.  118.  It  is  surpris- 
ing that  this  expression  never  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Spanish 
authors,  who,  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  were  search- 
ing every  where  in  classical  literature  with  the  expectation  of  finding 
some  traces  of  acquaintance  with  the  New  World. 

1  "The  idea  of  such  a  locality  in  a  continuation  of  the  long  axis  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean was  connected  with  a  grand  view  of  the  earth  by  Eratostlienos  (generally 
and  extensively  known  among  the  ancients),  according  to  which  the  entire  ancient 
continent,  in  its  widest  expanse  from  west  to  east,  in  the  parallel  of  about  thirty -six 
degrees,  presents  an  almost  unbroken  line  of  elevation." — Humboldt's  Cosmos. 


32  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ed  ;*  the  length  of  the  voyage,  or  the  wonders  that  might  he 
in  its  course,  imagination  alone  could  measure  or  describe. 
Whatever  might  have  been  the  suspicion  or  belief  f  of  ancient 
time,  we  may  feci  assured  that  none  then  ventured  to  seek 
these  distant  lands,  nor  have  we  reason  to  suppose  that  any 
of  the  civilizeil  European  races  gave  inhabitants  to  the  New 
World  before  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

To  the  barbarous  hordes  of  Northeastern  Asia  America 
must  have  long  been  known  as  the  land  where  many  of 
their  wanderers  found  a  home.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
from  them  no  information  was  obtained  ;  but  it  is  strange 
that  the  bold  and  adventurous  Northmen  should  have  visited 
it  nearly  five  hundred  years  before  the  great  Genoese,  and 
have  suflered  their  wonderful  discovery  to  remain  hidden 
from  the  world,  and  to  become  almost  forgotten  among 
themselves.1: 

*  "  D'Anville  a  dit  avee  esprit  que  la  plus  grande  des  erreurs  dans 
la  geographic  dc  Ptoleniee  a  conduit  les  homnes  a  la  plus  grande  de- 
couverte  de  terres  nouvclles  c'est,  a  dire  la  supposition  que  1' Asie  s'eten- 
dait  vers  Pest,  au  dcla  du  180  degre  de  longitude." 

Both  Strabo  and  Aristotle  speak  of  "the  same  sea  bathing  opposite 
.shores,"  Strabo,  lib.  i.,  p.  103;  lib.  ii.,  p.  162.  Aristotle,  De  Calo, 
lib.  ii..  cap.  14,  p.  297.  The  possibility  of  navigating  from  the  ex- 
tremity of  Europe  to  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia  is  clearly  asserted  by 
the  Stagirite,  and  in  the  two  celebrated  passages  of  Strabo.  Aristotle 
does  not  suppose  the  distance  to  be  very  great,  and  draws  an  ingen- 
ious argument  in  favor  of  his  supposition  from  the  geography  of  ani- 
mals. Strabo  sees  no  obstacle  to  passing  from  Iberia  to  India,  except 
Ihc  immense  extent  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is  to  be  remembered 
tliat  Strabo,  as  well  as  Eratosthenes,  extend  the  appellation  of  Atlantic 
Sea  to  every  part  of  the  ocean. — Humboldt's  Geog.  du  Nouvcau  Conti- 
nait. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  III. 

t  "  Au  milieu  de  tant  de  discussions  acerbcs  qu"une  curicuse  malig- 
nite  ct  le  gout  d'une  fausse  erudition  classique  firent  naltrc  sur  le  me- 
rito  de  Christophe  Colomb,  parmi  ses  contemporains,  personne  n'a 
pense  aux  navigations  des  Normands  comme  precurseurs  des  Genois. 
Cettc  idee  nc  se  presenta  que  soixante  quatre  ans  aprcs  la  mort  da 
grand  hommc.  On  savait  par  ces  propres  reeits  '  qu'il  etoit  alle  a 
Thule'  mais  alors  ce  voyage  vers  le  nord  ne  fit  naitre  aucun  soupjon 
sur  la  prioritc,  de  la  decouverte  .  .  .  .  Le  merite  d'avoir  reconnu  1^ 
premiere  decouverte  dc  lAinerique  septentrionale  par  les  Normands 
apparticnt  indubitablement  au  geographe  Ortelius,  qui  annonfa  eette 
opinion  des  lannee  1570.      '  Cliristophe  Colomb,  dit  Ortelius,  a  seule- 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  33 

In  the  year  1001  the  Icelanders  touched  upon  the  Amer- 
ican coast,  and  for  nearly  two  centuries  subsequent  visits 
were  repeatedly  made  by  them  and  the  Norwegians,  for  the 
purpose  of  commerce  or  for  the  gratification  of  curiosity. 
Biorn  Heriolson,  an  Icelander,  was  the  first  discoverer  :  steer- 
ing for  Greenland,  he  was  driven  to  the  south  by  tempestu- 
ous and  unfavorable  winds,  and  saw  different  parts  of  Amer- 
ica, without,  however,  touching  at  any  of  them.  Attracted 
by  the  report  of  this  voyage,  Leif,  son  of  Eric,  the  discoverer 
of  Greenland,  fitted  out  a  vessel  to  pursue  the  same  adven- 
ture. He  passed  the  coast  visited  by  Biorn,  and  steered 
southwest  till  he  reached  a  strait  between  a  large  island  and 
the  main  land.  Finding  the  country  fertile  and  pleasant, 
he  passed  the  winter  near  this  place,  and  gave  it  the  name 
of  Vinland,*  from  the  wild  vine  which  grew  there  in  great 

ment  mis  le  Nouveau  Monde  en  rapport  durable  de  commerce  et 
d'utilite  avec  I'Europe'  (Theatr.  Orbis  Terr.,  on  p.  5,  6).  Ce  jnge- 
ment  est  beaucoup  trop  severe." — Humboldt's  Geog.  du  Nouveau  Con- 
tinent. 

*  "  Biorn  first  saw  land  in  the  Island  of  Nantucket,  one  degree 
south  of  Boston,  then  in  New  Scotland,  and  lastly  in  Newfoundland." 
— Carl  Christian  Rafn,  Antiquitates  AmericmicE,  1845,  p.  4,  421  ; 
Humboldt's  Cosmos. 

"The  country  called  'the  good  Vinland'  (Vinland  it  goda)  by  Leif, 
included  the  shore  between  Boston  and  New  York,  and  therefore  parts 
of  the  present  states  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut, 
between  the  parallels  of  latitude  of  Civita  Vecchia  and  Terracina, 
where,  however,  the  average  temperature  of  the  year  is  between 
46°  and  52°  (Fahr.).  This  was  the  chief  settlement  of  the  Normans. 
Their  active  and  enterprising  spirit  is  proved  by  the  circumstance 
that,  after  they  had  settled  in  the  south  as  far  as  41°  30'  north  latitude, 
they  erected  three  pillars  to  mark  out  the  boundaries  near  the  eastern 
coast  of  Baffin's  Bay,  in  the  latitude  of  72°  55',  upon  one  of  the  Wom- 
en Islands  northwest  of  the  present  most  northern  Danish  colony  of 
Upernavik.  The  Runic  inscription  upon  the  stone,  discovered  in  the 
autumn  of  1824,  contains,  according  to  Rask  and  Finn  Magnusen,  the 
date  of  the  year  1135.  From  this  eastern  coast  of  Baffin's  Bay,  the 
colonists  visited,  with  great  regularity,  on  account  of  the  fishery,  Lan- 
caster Sound  and  a  part  of  Barrow's  Straits,  and  this  occurred  more 
than  six  centuries  before  the  bold  undertakings  of  Parry  and  Ross, 
The  locality  of  the  fishery  is  very  accurately  described ;  and  Green 
land  priests,  from  the  diocese  of  Gardar,  conducted  the  first  voyage  of 
discovery  in  1266.  These  northwestern  summer  stations  were  called 
the  Kroksjardar,  heathen  countries.     Mention  was  early  made  of  the 

B  2 


34  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

abundance*  The  winter  days  were  longer  in  this  new 
country  than  in  Greenland,  and  the  weather  was  more  tem- 
perate. 

Leif  returned  to  Greenland  in  the  spring  ;  his  brother 
Thorvald  succeeded  him,  and  remained  two  winters  in  Vin- 
land  exploring-  much  of  the  coast  and  country. t  In  the 
course  of  the  third  summer  the  natives,  now  called  Esqui- 
maux, were  first  seen  ;  on  account  of  their  diminutive  stat- 
ure the  adventurers  gave  them  the  name  of  Skraslingar.% 
These  poor  savages,  irritated  by  an  act  of  barbarous  cruelty, 
attacked  the  Northmen  with  darts  and  arrows,  and  Thorvald 
fell  a  victim  to  their  vengeance.  A  wealthy  Icelander, 
named  Thorfinn,  established  a  regular  colony  in  Vinland  soon 
after  this  event ;  the  settlers  increased  rapidly  in  numbers, 
and  traded  with  the  natives  for  furs  and  skins  to  great  ad- 
vantage. After  three  years  the  adventurers  returned  to 
Iceland  enriched  by  the  expedition,  and  reported  favorably 
upon  the  new  country.  Little  is  known  of  this  settlement 
after  Thorfinn's  departure  till  early  in  the  twelfth  century, 
when  a  bishop  of  Greenland^  went  there  to  promulgate  the 
Christian  faith  among  the  colonists  ;  beyond  that  time  scarcely 
a  notice  of  its  existence  occurs,  and  the  name  and  situation 
of  the  ancient  Vinland  soon  passed  away  from  the  knowledge 
of  man.      Whether  the  adventurous  colonists  ever  returned, 

Siberian  wood,  which  was  then  collected,  as  well  as  of  the  numerous 
whales,  seals,  walrus,  and  polar  bears." — Rafn,  Antiq.  jlmer.,  p.  20, 
274,  415-418,  quoted  by  Humboldt. 

*  One  of  the  objections  brought  forward  by  Robertson  against  the 
Norman  discovery  of  America  is,  that  the  wild  vine  has  never  since 
been  found  so  far  north  as  Labrador ;  but  modern  travelers  have  as- 
certained that  a  species  of  wild  vine  grows  even  as  far  north  as  the 
shores  of  Hudson's  Bay.'  Since  Robertson's  time,  however,  the  lo- 
cality of  the  first  Norman  settlement  has  been  moved  further  south, 
and  into  latitudes  where  the  best  species  of  wild  vines  are  abundant. 

t  Rafn,  Antiq.  Amcr. 

X  The  Esquimaux  were  at  that  time  spread  much  further  south  than 
they  are  at  present. — Humboldt's  Cosmos,  vol.  ii.,  p.  268. 

§  Eric  Upsi,  a  native  of  Iceland,  and  the  first  Greenland  bishop,  un- 
dertook to  go  to  Vinland  as  a  Christian  missionary  in  1121. 

'  .Sir  A.  Mackenzie's  Travels  in  Iceland,  1812.  Preliminary  Dissertation  by  Dr 
Holland,  p.  4C,. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  35 

or  became  blended  with  the  natives,*  or  perished  by  their 
hands,  no  record  remains  to  tell.f 

Discoveries  such  as  these  by  the  ancient  Scandinavians — 
fruitless  to  the  world  and  almost  buried  in  oblivion — can  not 
dim  the  glory  of  that  transcendant  genius  to  whom  we  owe 
the  knowledge  of  a  New  World. 

The  claim  of  the  Welsh  to  the  first  discovery  of  America 
seems  to  rest  upon  no  better  original  authority  than  that  of 

*  "The  learned  Grotius  founds  an  argument  for  the  colonization  of 
America  by  the  Norwegians  on  the  simihirity  between  the  names  of 
Norway  and  La  Norimbegue,  a  district  bordering  on  New  England." 
— Gi'otius,  De  Originc  Gentium  Americanarum,  in  quarto,  1642.  See, 
also,  the  Controversy  between  Grotius  and  Jean  de  Laet. 

t  Accurate  information  respecting  the  former  intercourse  of  the 
Northmen  with  the  Continent  of  America  reaches  only  as  far  as  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  centur}'.  In  the  3'ear  1349  a  ship  was  .sent 
from  Greenland  to  Markland  (New  Scotland)  to  collect  timber  and 
other  necessaries.  Upon  their  return  from  jNIarkland,  the  ship  was 
overtaken  by  storms,  and  compelled  to  land  at  Straumfjoi-d,  in  the 
west  of  Iceland.  This  is  the  last  account  of  the  "  Norman  America," 
preserved  for  us  in  the  ancient  Scandinavian  writings.  The  settle- 
ments upon  the  west  coast  of  Greenland,  which  were  in  a  very  flourish- 
ing condition  until  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  gradually  de- 
clined, from  the  fatal  influence  of  monopoh'  of  trade,  h}-  the  invasion 
of  the  Esquimaux,  by  the  black  death  which  depopulated  the  north 
from  the  year  1347  to  1351,  and  also  by  the  arrival  of  a  hostile  fleet, 
from  what  country  is  not  known. 

By  means  of  the  critical  and  most  praiseworthy  efforts  of  Christian 
Rafn,  and  the  Royal  Society  for  Northern  Antiquities  in  Copenhagen, 
the  traditions  and  ancient  accounts  of  the  voyage  of  the  Normans  to 
Helluland  (Newfoundland),  to  Markland  (the  mouth  of  the  River  St. 
Lawrence  at  Nova  Scotia),  and  at  Winland  (Massachusetts),  have  been 
separately  printed  and  satisfactorily  commented  upon.  The  length 
of  the  voyage,  the  direction  in  which  they  sailed,  the  time  of  the  rising 
and  setting  of  the  sun,  are  accurately  laid  down.  The  principal  sources 
of  information  are  the  historical  narrations  of  Erik  the  Red,  Thorfinn 
Karlsefne,  and  Snorre  Thorbrandson,  probably  written  in  Greenland 
itself,  as  early  as  the  twelfth  century,  partly  by  descendants  of  the 
settlers  born  in  Winland. — Rafn,  Anliq.  Amer.^  p.  7,  14,  16.  The 
ca.re  with  which  the  tables  of  their  pedigrees  was  kept  was  so  great, 
that  the  table  of  the  family  of  Thortinn  Karlsefne,  whose  son,  Snorre 
Thorbrandson,  was  born  in  America,  was  kept  from  the  year  1007  to 
1811. 

The  name  of  the  colonized  countries  is  found  in  the  ancient  national 
songs  of  the  natives  of  the  Faroe  Islands. — Humboldt's  Cosmos,  vol.  ii., 
p.  268-452. 


36  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

Meridith-ap-rvecs,  a  bard  who  died  in  the  year  1477.  His 
verses  only  relate  that  Prince  Madoc,  wearied  with  dissen- 
sions at  home,  searched  the  ocean  for  a  new  kingdom.  The 
tale  of  this  adventurer's  voyages  and  colonization  was  written 
one  hundred  years  subsequent  to  the  early  Spanish  discover- 
ies, and  seems  to  be  merely  a  fanciful  completion  of  his  his- 
tory :  he  probably  perished  in  the  unknown  seas.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  neither  the  ancient  principality  nor  the  world  reaped 
any  benefit  from  these  alleged  discoveries.* 

In  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
fourteenth  centuries,  the  Venetian  Marco  Polof  and  the 
Englishman  Mandevillet  awakened  the  curiosity  of  Europe 
with  respect  to  the  remote  parts  of  the  earth.  Wise  and 
discerning  men  selected  the  more  valuable  portions  of  their 
observations  ;  ideas  were  enlarged,  and  a  desire  for  more 
perfect  information  excited  a  thirst  for  discovery.  While 
this  spirit  was  gaining  strength  in  Europe,  the  wonderful 
powers  of  the  magnet  were  revealed  to  the  Western  World. § 
The  invention  of  the  mariner's  compass  aided  and  extended 
navigation  more  than  all  the  experience  and  adventure  of 
preceding  ages  :  the  light  of  the  stars,  the  guidance  of  the 
sea-coast,  M^ere  no  longer  necessary  ;  trusting  to  the  mys- 
terious powers  of  his  new  friend,  the  sailor  steered  out  fear- 
lessly into  the  ocean,  through  the  bewildering  mists  or  the 
darkness  of  night. 

The  Spaniards  were  the  first  to  profit  by  the  bolder  spirit 
and  improved  science  of  navigation.  About  the  beginning 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  they  were  led  to  the  accidental 
discovery  of  the  Canary  Islands,  ||  and  made  repeated  voy- 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  IV.  t  See  Appendix,  No.  V. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  VI.  ^  See  Appendix,  No.  VII. 

II  The  numerous  data  which  have  come  down  to  us  iVoin  antiquity, 
and  an  acute  examination  of  the  local  relations,  especially  the  great 
vicinity  of  the  settlements  upon  the  African  coast,  which  incontestably 
existed,  lead  me  to  believe  that  Phcenicians,  Carthaginians,  Greeks, 
and  Romans,  and  probably  even  the  Etruscans,  were  acquainted  with 
the  group  of  the  Canary  Islands. — Humboldt's  Cosmos,  vol.  ii.,  p.  414. 

"  Porro  occidcntalis  navigatio,  (piantum  ctiam  fami'i  assequi  Plinius 
potuit,  tantura  ad  Fortunatas  Insulas  cursum  protendit,  carumque 
pra^eipuam  a  multitudine  canum  Canariam  vocatam  rel'crt."' — Acosla, 
Dc  Nulura  Novi  Orbis,  lib.  i.,  cap.  ii. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  37 

ages  thither,  plundering  the  wretched  inhabitants,  and  carry- 
ing them  off  as  slaves.*  Pope  Clement  VI.  conferred  these 
countries  as  a  kingdom  upon  Louis  de  la  Cerda,  of  the  royal 
race  of  Castile ;  he,  however,  was  powerless  to  avail  himself 
of  the  gift,  and  it  passed  to  the  stronger  hand  of  John  de 
Bethancourt,  a  Norman  baron. f  The  countrymen  of  this 
bold  adventurer  explored  the  seas  far  to  the  south  of  the  Ca- 
nary Islands,  and  acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  coast  of 
Africa. 

The  glory  of  leading  the  career  of  systematic  exploration 
belongs  to  the  Portuguese  :$  their  attempts  were  not  only 

Respecting  the  probability  of  the  Semitic  origin  of  the  name  of  the 
Canary  Islands,  Pliny,  in  his  Latinizing  etymological  notions,  considered 
them  to  be  Dog  Islands!  (Vide  Credner's  Biblical  Representation  of 
Paradise,  in  Illgen's  Journal  for  Historical  Theology,  1836,  vol.  vi.,  p. 
166-18fi.)— Hmnboldt's  Cosmos,  vol.  ii.,  p.  414. 

The  most  fundamental,  and,  in  a  literary  point  of  view,  the  most 
complete  account  of  the  Canary  Islands,  that  was  written  in  ancient 
times,  down  to  the  Middle  Ages,  was  collected  in  a  work  of  Joachim 
Jose  da  Costa  de  Macedo,  with  the  title  "  Memoria  cem  que  se  pre- 
tende  provar  que  os  Arabes  nao  connecerao  as  Canarias  autes  dos 
Portuguesques,  1844."  (See,  also,  Viera  y  Clavigo,  Notic.  de  la  Hist, 
de  Canaria.) — Humboldt's  Cosmos. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  VIII. 

t  '"Jean  de  Bethancourt  knew  that  before  the  expedition  of  Alvaro 
Beccara,  that  is  to  say,  before  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  Nor- 
man adventurers  had  penetrated  as  far  as  Sierra  Leone  (lat.  8°  30'), 
and  he  sought  to  follow  their  traces.  Before  the  Portugu'ese,  how- 
ever, no  European  nation  appears  to  have  crossed  the  equator." — 
Humboldt. 

"  Les  Normands  et  les  Arabes  sont  les  seules  nations  qui,  jusqu'au 
commencement  du  douzieme  siecle,  aient  partage  la  gloire  des  grandes 
expeditions  maritimes,  le  gout  des  aventures  ctranges,  la  passion  du 
pillage  et  des  conquetes  ephemeres.  Les  Normands  ont  occupe  suc- 
cessivement  I'Islande  et  la  Neustrie,  ravage  les  sanctuaires  de  I'ltalie, 
conquis  la  Pouille  sur  les  Grecs,  inscrit  leurs  caracteres  runiques  jus- 
que  sur  les  flancs  d'un  des  lions  que  Morosini  enleva  au  Piree  d'Athenes 
pour  en  orner  I'arsenal  de  Venise." — Humboldt's  Geog.  du  Nouvcau 
Continent,  vol.  ii.,  p.  86. 

\  "No  nation,"  says  Southey,  "has  ever  accomplished  such  great 
things  in  proportion  to  its  means  as  the  Portuguese."  Its  early  mari- 
time history  does,  indeed,  present  a  striking  picture  of  enterprise  and 
restless  energy,  but  the  annals  of  Europe  afford  no  similar  instance  of 
rapid  degeneracy.  There  was  an  age  when  less  than  forty  thousand 
arrtied  Portugue.se  kept  the  whole  coasts  of  the  ocean  in  awe,  from  Mo- 


38  I'HE    COXaUEST    OF    CANADA. 

attended  with  considerable  success,  but  gave  encouragement 
and  energy  to  those  eiibrts  that  were  crowned  by  the  dis- 
covery of  a  world  :  among  them  the  great  Genoese  was 
trained,  and  their  steps  in  advance  matured  the  idea,  and 
aided  the  execution  of  his  design.  The  nations  of  Europe 
had  now  begun  to  cast  aside  the  errors  and  prejudices  of 
their  ancestors.  The  works  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and 
Romans  were  eagerly  searched  for  information,  and  former 
discoveries  brought  to  light.*  The  science  of  the  Arabians 
was  introduced  and  cultivated  by  the  Moors  and  Jews,  and 
geometry,  astronomy,  and  geography  were  studied  as  essen- 
tial to  the  art  of  navigation. 

In  the  year  1412,  the  Portuguese  doubled  Cape  Non,  the 
limit  of  ancient  enterprise.  For  upward  of  seventy  years 
afterward  they  pursued  their  explorations,  with  more  or  less 
of  vigor  and  success,  along  the  African  coast,  and  among  the 
adjacent  islands.  By  intercourse  with  the  people  of  these 
countries  they  gradually  acquired  some  knowledge  of  lands 
yet  unvisited.  Experience  proved  that  the  torrid  zone  was 
not  closed  to  the  enterprise  of  man.f      They  found  that  the 

rocco  to  China ;  when  one  hundred  and  fifty  sovereign  princes  paid  trib- 
ute to  the  treasury  of  Lisbon.  But  in  all  their  enterprises  they  aimed 
at  conquest,  and  not  at  colonization.  The  government  at  home  exer- 
cised little  control  over  the  arms  of  its  piratical  mariners ;  the  mother 
country  derived  no  benefit  from  their  achievements.  To  the  age  of 
conquest  succeeded  one  of  efl'emLnacy  and  corruption." — iMerivale's 
Lectures  on  Colonization,  vol.  i.,  p.  44. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  IX. 

t  The  zones  were  imaginary  bands  or  circles  in  the  heavens,  pro- 
ducing an  eflbct  of  climate  on  corresponding  belts  on  the  globe  of  the 
earth.  The  frigid  zones,  between  the  polar  circles  and  the  poles,  were 
considered  uninhabitable  and  unnavigable,  on  account  of  the  extreme 
cold.  The  torrid  zone,  lying  beneath  the  track  of  the  sun,  or  rather 
the  central  part  of  it,  immediately  about  the  equator,  was  considered 
uninhabitable,  unproductive,  and  impassable,  on  account  of  the  excess- 
ive heat.  The  temperate  zones,  lying  between  the  torrid  and  the 
frigid  zones,  were  supposed  to  be  the  only  parts  of  the  globe  suited  to 
the  purposes  of  life.  Parnienides,  according  to  Strabo,  was  the  in- 
ventor of  this  theory  of  the  five  zones.  Aristotle  supported  the  same 
doctrine.  He  believed  that  there  was  habitable  earth  in  the  southern 
hemisphere,  but  that  it  was  forever  divided  from  the  part  of  the  world 
already  known  by  the  impassable  zone  of  scorching  heat  at  the  equa- 
tor.    (Aristot.,  Met.,  ii.,  cap.  v.)      Pliny  supported  the  opinion  of  Aris- 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  39 

form  of  the  continent  contracted  as  it  stretched  soutliward, 
and  that  it  tended  toward  the  east.  Then  they  brought  to 
mind  the  accounts  of  the  ancient  Phoenician  voyagers  round 
Africa,*  long  deemed  fabulous,  and  the  hope  arose  that  they 
might  pursue  the  same  career,  and  win  for  themselves  the 
magnificent  prize  of  Indian  commerce.  In  the  year  1486 
the  adventurous  Bartholomew  Diazf  first  reached  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  ;  soon  afterward  the  information  gained  by 
Pedro  de  Covilham,  in  his  overland  journey,  confirmed  the 
consequent  sanguine  expectations  of  success.  The  attention 
of  Europe  was  now  fully  aroused,  and  the  progress  of  the 
Portuguese    M'as  watched  with    admiration   and   suspense. 

totle  concerning  the  burning  zones.  (Pliny,  lib.  i.,  cap.  Ixvi.)  Strabo 
(lib.  ii.),  in  mentioning  this  theory,  gives  it  likewise  his  support;  and 
others  of  the  ancient  philosophers,  as  well  as  the  poets,  might  be  cited, 
to  show  the  general  prevalence  of  the  belief. — Cicero,  Somnium  Scip- 
ionis,  cap.  vi. ;  Geminus,  cap.  xiii.,  p.  31  ;  ap.  Petavii  Opus  de  Doctr. 
Temper,  in  quo  Uranologium  sive  Systeraata  var.  Auctorum.  Arast., 
1705,  vol.  iii.  *  See  Appendix,  No.  X. 

t  Barros,  Dec.  I.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  iv.,  p.  190,  says  distinctly,  "  Bar- 
tholomeu  Diaz,  e  os  de  sua  compantica  per  causa  dos  perigos,  e  tor- 
mentas,  que  em  o  dobrar  delle  passarara  che  puyeram  nome  Tor- 
mentoso."  The  merit  of  the  first  circumnavigation,  therefore,  does 
not  belong  to  Vasco  de  Gama,  as  is  generally  supposed.  Diaz  was 
at  the  Cape  in  May,  1487,  and,  therefore,  almost  at  the  same  time 
that  Pedro  de  Covilham  and  Alonzo  de  Pay  va  of  Barcelona  commenced 
their  expedition.  As  early  as  December,  1487,  Diaz  himself  brought 
to  Portugal  the  account  of  his  important  discovery.  The  mission  of 
Pedro  Covilham  and  Alonso  de  Payva,  in  1487,  was  set  on  foot  bv 
King  John  II.,  in  order  to  search  for  "  the  African  priest  Johannes."' 
Believing  the  accounts  which  he  had  obtained  from  Indian  and  Arabian 
pilots  in  Calicut,  Goa,  Aden,  as  well  as  in  Sofala,  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  Africa,  Covilham  informed  King  John  II.,  by  means  of  two  Jews 
from  Cairo,  that  if  the  Portuguese  were  to  continue  their  voyages  of 
discovery  upon  the  western  coast  in  a  southerly  direction,  they  would 
come  to  the  end  of  Africa,  whence  a  voyage  to  the  Island  of  the 
Moon,  to  Zanzibar,  and  the  gold  country  of  Sofala,  would  be  very  easy. 
Accounts  of  the  Indian  and  Arabian  trading  stations  upon  the  east 
coast  of  Africa,  and  of  the  form  of  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Con- 
tinent, may  have  extended  to  Venice,  through  Egypt,  Abyssinia,  and 
Arabia.  The  triangular  form  of  Africa  was  actually  delineated  upon 
the  map  of  Sanuto,  made  in  1306,  and  discovered  in  the  "  Portulano 
della  Mediceo-Laurenziana,"  by  Count  Baldelli  in  1351,  and  also  in 
the  chart  of  the  world  by  Fra  Mauro. — Humboldt's  Cosmos,  vol.  ii,, 
p.  290,  461. 


40  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

But  during  this  interval,  while  all  eyes  were  turned  \vdth 
anxious  interest  toward  the  East,  a  little  bark,  leaky  and 
tempest-tossed,  sought  shelter  in  the  Tagus.*  It  had  come 
from  the  Far  West — over  that  stormy  sea  where,  from  the 
creation  until  then,  had  brooded  an  impenetrable  mystery. 
It  bore  the  richest  freight!  that  ever  lay  upon  the  bosom  of 
the  deep — the  tidings  of  a  New  World. J 

It  would  be  but  tedious  to  repeat  here  all  the  well-known 
story  of  Christopher  Columbus  ;^  his  early  dangers  and  ad- 

■*  Faria  y  Sousa  complain.s  that  "  the  admiral  entered  Lisbon  with  a 
vain-glorious  exultation,  in  order  to  make  Portugal  feel,  by  displaying 
the  tokens  of  his  discovery,  how  much  she  had  erred  in  not  acceding 
to  his  propositions." — Europa  Portugucsa,  t.  ii.,  p.  402,  403. 

Ruy  de  Pina  asserts  that  Kin<^  John  was  much  importuned  to  kill 
Columbus  on  the  spot,  since,  with  his  death,  the  prosecution  of  the 
undertaking,  as  far  as  the  sovereigns  of  Castile  were  concerned,  would 
cease,  from  want  of  a  suitable  person  to  take  charge  of  it ;  but  the 
king  had  too  much  magnanimity  to  adopt  the  iniquitous  measure  pro- 
posed.— Vasconcellos,  Vlda  del  Ric  Don  Juan  II.,  lib.  vi.  :  Garcia  de 
Resende,  Vide  de  Dom  Joam  II.  ;  Las  Casas,  Hist,  hid.,  lib.  i.,  cap. 
Ixxiv.  ;  MS.  quoted  by  Prescott.  t  See  Appendix,  No.  XI. 

"  A  Castilla  y  a  Leon 
Nuevo  Mundo  dio  Colon," 
was  the  inscription  on  the  costly  monument  that  was  raised  over  the 
remains  of  Columbus  in  the  Carthusian  Monastery  of  La  Cuevas  at 
Seville.  "  The  like  of  which,"  says  his  son  Ferdinand,  with  as  much 
truth  as  simplicity,  "  was  never  recorded  of  any  man  in  ancient  or 
modern  times." — Hist,  del  Almirante,  cap.  cviii. 

His  ashes  were  finally  removed  to  Cuba,  where  they  now  repose  in 
the  Cathedral  church  of  its  capital. — Navarrete,  Coleccion  de  VLages, 
torn.  ii. 

'■  E  dandogli  il  titol  di  Don  volsero  che  egli  aggiungesse  presso 
aH'arme  di  casa  sua  quattro  altre,  cioe  quelle  del  Regno  de  Castiglio 
di  Leon,  e  il  Mar  Occano  con  tutte  I'i.sole  e  quattro  anchore  per 
dimostrare  Tufficio  d" Almirante,  con  un  motto  d'intorno  che  dicea, 
'  Per  Castiglia  e  per  Leon,  Nuovo  Mundo  trovo  Colon.'  " — Ramu.sio, 
Discorso,  tom.  iii. 

The  heir  of  Columbus  was  always  to  bear  the  arras  of  the  admiral, 
to  seal  with  them,  and  in  his  signature  never  to  use  any  other  title 
tlian  simjjly  "  the  Admiral." 

^  See  Appendix,  No.  XH. — In  the  Middle  Ages  the  prevalent  opin- 
ion was  that  the  sea  covered  but  one  seventh  of  the  surface  of  the  globe; 
an  opinion  which  Cardinal  d'Ailiy  (Imago  Mundi,  cap.  viii.)  founded 
on  the  apocryphal  fourth  book  of  Ezra.  Columbus,  who  always  de- 
rived much  of  his  cosmological  knowledge  from  the  cardinal's  work, 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  41 

ventures,  his  numerous  voyages,  his  industry,  acquirements, 
and  speculations,  and  how  at  length  the  great  idea  arose  in 
his  mind,  and  matured  itself  into  a  conviction  ;  then  how 
conviction  led  to  action,  checked  and  interrupted,  but  not 
weakened,  by  the  doubts  of  pedantic  ignorance,*  and  the 
treachery,!  coolness,   or  contempt  of  courts.      On  Friday, $ 

was  much  interested  in  upholding  this  idea  of  the  smalhiess  of  the  sea, 
to  which  the  misunderstood  expression  of  "  the  ocean-stream"  con- 
tributed not  a  little.  He  was  also  accustomed  to  cite  Aristotle,  and 
Seneca,  and  St.  Augustine,  in  confirmation  of  this  opinion. — Humboldt's 
Examcn  Critique  dc  VHist.  de  la  Geographic,  tom.  i.,  p.  186. 

*  See,  especially,  the  details  of  the  conference  held  at  Salamanca 
(the  great  seat  of  learning  in  Spain),  given  in  the  fourth  chapter  of 
Washington  Irving's  "Columbus."  One  of  the  objections  advanced 
was,  that,  admitting  the  earth  to  be  spherical,  and  should  a  ship  suc- 
ceed in  reaching  in  this  way  the  extremity  of  India,  she  could  never 
get  back  again ;  for  the  rotundity  of  the  globe  would  present  a  kind  of 
mountain,  up  which  it  would  he  impossible  for  her  to  sail  with  the  most 
favorable  wind. — Hist,  del  jUmirante,  cap.  ii. ;  Hist,  de  Cliiapa  por 
Remescl,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  27. 

t  Columbus  was  required  by  King  John  H.,  of  Portugal,  to  furnish 
a  detailed  plan  of  his  proposed  voyages,  with  the  charts  and  other  doc- 
uments according  to  which  he  proposed  to  shape  his  course,  for  the 
alleged  purpose  of  having  them  examined  by  the  royal  counselors.  He 
readily  complied ;  but  while  he  remained  in  anxious  suspense  as  to  the 
decision  of  the  council,  a  caravel  was  secretly  dispatched  with  instruc- 
tions to  pursue  the  route  designated  in  the  papers  of  Columbus.  This 
voyage  had  the  ostensible  pretext  of  carrying  j)ravisions  to  the  Cape  de 
Verde  Islands ;  the  private  instructions  given  were  carried  into  effect 
when  the  caravel  departed  thence.  It  stood  westward  for  several  days ; 
but  then  the  weather  grew  stormy,  and  the  pilots  having  no  zeal  to 
stimulate  them,  and  seeing  nothing  but  an  immeasurable  waste  of  wild, 
trembling  waves  still  extending  before  them,  lost  all  courage  to  pro- 
ceed. They  put  back  to  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands,  and  thence  to 
Lisbon,  excusing  their  own  want  of  resolution  by  ridiculing  the  project 
of  Columbus.  On  discovering  this  act  of  treachery,  Columbus  instantly 
quitted  Portugal. — Hist,  del  Jllmirante,  cap.  viii. ;  Herrera,  Dec.  I., 
lib.  i.,  cap.  vii. ;  Munoz,  Hist,  del  Nuevo  Mtmdo,  lib.  ii. — Quoted  by 
Prescott. 

t  "  Le  Vendredi  n'  etant  pas  regarde  dans  la  Chretiente  comme  un 
jour  de  bon  augure  pour  le  commencement  d'une  entreprise,  les  his- 
toriens  du  17""^  siecle,  qui  gemissaient  deja  sur  les  maux  dont,  selon 
eux,  I'Europe  a  ete  accable  par  la  decouverte  de  I'Amerique,  on  fait 
remarque  que  Colomb  est  parti  pour  la  premiere  expedition  vendredi, 
3  aout  1492,  et  que  la  premiere  terre  d'Amerique  a  ete  decouverte 
vendredi  1 2  Octobre  de  la  mcme  annee.     La  reformation  du  calendrier 


i2  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  3d  of  August,  1492,  a  squadron  of  three  small,  crazy 
ships,  bearmg  ninety  men,  sailed  from  the  port  of  Palos,  in 
Andalusia.  Columbus,  the  commander  and  pilot,  was  deeply 
impressed  with  sentiments  of  religion  ;  and,  as  the  spread  of 
Christianity  was  one  great  object  of  the  expedition,  he  and 
his  followers  before  their  departure  had  implored  the  blessing 
of  Heaven*  upon  the  voyage,  from  which  they  might  never 
return. 

They  steered  at  first  for  the  Canaries,  over  a  well-known 
course ;  but  on  the  Gth  of  September  they  sailed  fi'om  Go- 
mera,  the  most  distant  of  those  islands,  and,  leaving  the  usual 
track  of  navigation,  stretched  westward  into  the  unknown 
sea.  And  still  ever  westward  for  six-and-thirty  days  they 
bent  their  course  through  the  dreary  desert  of  waters  ;  terri- 
fied by  the  changeless  wind  that  wafted  them  hour  after  hour 
further  into  the  awful  solitude,  and  seemed  to  forbid  the  pros- 
pect of  return ;  bewildered  by  the  altered  hours  of  day  and 
night,  and  more  than  all  by  the  mysterious  variation  of  their 
only  guide,  for  the  magnetic  needle  no  longer  pointed  to  the 
pole.f      Then  strange  appearances  in  the  sea  aroused  new 

appliquee  au  journal  de  Colorab,  qui  indique  toujours  a  la  fois,  les  jours 
de  la  semaine  et  la  date  du  mois,  feroit  disparoitre  le  pronostic  du  jour 
fatal." — Humboldt's  Giog.  du  Nouveau  Continent,  vol.  iii.,  p.  160. 

*  His  first  landing  in  the  New  World  partook  of  the  same  charac- 
ter as  his  departure  from  the  Old. 

"  Christoforo  Colombo — primo  con  una  bandiera  nella  quale  era  fig- 
urato  il  nostro  Signore  Jesu  Christo  in  croce,  salto  in  terra,  e  quella 
pianto,  e  poi  tutti  <rli  alti  smontarono,  e  inginocchiati  baeiarono  la  ter- 
ra, trc  volti  piangendo  di  allegrezza.  Di  poi  Colombo  alzatc  le  raani 
al  cielo  lagrimando  disse,  Signor  Dio  Eterno,  Signore  omnipotente,  tu 
creasti  il  cielo,  e  la  terra,  e  il  mare  con  la  tua  santa  parola,  sia  bene- 
detto  e  glorificato  il  nome  tuo,  sia  ringraziata  la  tua  Maesta,  la  quale 
si  e  degnata  per  mano  d'  uno  umil  suo  servo  far  ch'  el  suo  santo  norae 
sia  conosciuto  e  divulgate  in  questa  altra  parte  del  mondo.'' — Pietro 
JNIartire,  Dell'  Indie  Occidentali,  in  Ramusio,  torn,  iii.,  p.  2  ;  Oviedo, 
Hist.  Gen.  deW  India. 

t  Colunil)Us  not  only  has,  incontestably,  the  merit  of  first  discover- 
ing the  line  wliere  there  is  no  declination  of  the  needle,  but  also  of  first 
inducing  a  study  oi"  terrestrial  magnetism  in  Europe,  by  his  observa- 
tions concerning  the  increasing  declination  as  he  sailed  in  a  westerly 
direction  from  that  line.  It  had  been  already  easily  recognized  in  the 
Mediterranean,  and  in  all  places  where,  in  the  twelfth  century,  the 
declination  was  as  much  as  eight  or  ten  degrees,  even  though  their 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  43 

fears  :  vast  quantities  of  weeds  covered  the  surface,  retarding 
the  motion  of  the  vessels  ;  the  sailors  imagined  that  they  had 
reached  the  utmost  boundary  of  the  navigable  ocean,  and  that 
they  were  rushing  blindly  into  the  rocks  and  quicksands  of 
some  submerged  continent. 

The  master  mind  turned  all  these  strange  novelties  into 
omens  of  success.  The  changeless  wind  was  the  favoring 
breath  of  the  Omnipotent ;  the  day  lengthened  as  they  fol- 
lowed the  sun's  course  ;  an  ingenious  fiction  explained  the 
inconstancy  of  the  needle  ;  the  vast  fields  of  sea- weed  bespoke 
a  neighboring  shore  ;  and  the  flight  of  unknown  birds*  was 
hailed  with  happy  promise.  But  as  time  passed  on,  and 
brought  no  fulfillment  of  their  hopes,  the  spirits  of  the  timid 
began  to  fail ;  the  flattering  appearances  of  land  had  repeat- 
instruments  were  so  imperfect  that  the  ends  of  a  magnetic  needle  did 
not  point  exactly  to  the  geographical  north  or  south.  It  is  improbable 
that  the  Arabs  or  Crusaders  drew  attention  to  the  fact  of  the  compass 
pointing  to  the  northeast  and  northwest  in  different  parts  of  the  world, 
as  to  a  phenomenon  which  had  long  been  known.  The  merit  which 
belongs  to  Columbus  is,  not  for  the  first  observance  of  the  existence 
of  the  declination,  which  is  given,  for  example,  upon  the  map  of  An- 
drew Bianca,  in  1436,  but  for  the  remark  which  he  made  on  the  13th 
of  September,  1492,  that  about  two  degrees  and  a  half  to  the  east  of 
the  Island  of  Corvo  the  magnetic  variation  changed,  and  that  it  passed 
over  from  northeast  to  northwest.  This  discovery  of  a  magnetic  line 
without  any  variation  indicates  a  remarkable  epoch  in  nautical  astron- 
omy. It  was  celebrated  with  just  praise  by  Oviedo,  Casas,  and  Her- 
rera.  If  with  Livio  Sanuto  we  ascribe  it  to  the  renowned  mariner 
Sebastian  Cabot,  we  forget  that  his  first  voyage,  which  was  undertaken 
at  the  expense  of  some  merchants  of  Bristol,  and  which  was  crowned 
with  success  by  his  touching  the  main-land  of  America,  falls  five  yeai's 
later  than  the  first  expedition  of  Columbus. — Humboldt's  Cosmos,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  318  ;   Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  6. 

*  "  In  sailing  toward  the  West  India  Islands  birds  are  often  seen  at 
the  distance  of  two  hundred  leagues  from  the  nearest  coast.'" — Sloane's 
Nat.  Hist,  of  Jamaica,  vol.  i.,  p.  30. 

Captain  Cook  says,  "  No  one  yet  knows  to  what  distance  any  of  the 
Oceanic  birds  go  to  sea ;  for  my  own  part,  I  do  not  believe  that  there 
is  any  one  of  the  whole  tribe  that  can  be  relied  on  in  pointing  out  the 
vicinity  of  land." — Voyage  toward  the  South  Pole,  vol.  i..  p.  275. 

The  Portuguese,  however,  only  keeping  along  the  African  coast 
and  watching  the  flight  of  birds  with  attention,  concluded  that  they  did 
not  venture  to  fly  far  from  land.  Columbus  adopted  this  erroneous 
opinion  from  his  early  instructors  in  navigation. 


44  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

edly  deceived  them  ;  they  were  now  very  far  beyond  the 
limit  of  any  former  voyage.  From  the  timid  and  ignorant 
these  doubts  spread  upward,  and  by  degrees  the  contagion 
extended  from  ship  to  ship  :  secret  murmurs  rose  to  conspir- 
acies, complaints,  and  mutiny.  They  affirmed  that  they  had 
already  performed  their  duty  in  so  long  pursuing  an  unknown 
and  hopeless  course,  and  that  they  would  no  more  follow  a 
desperate  adventurer  to  destruction.  Some  even  proposed  to 
cast  their  leader  into  the  sea. 

The  menaces  and  persuasions  that  had  so  often  enabled 
Columbus  to  overcome  the  turbulence  and  fears  of  his  follow- 
ers now  ceased  to  be  of  any  avail.  He  gave  way  to  an  ir- 
resistible necessity,  and  promised  that  he  would  return  to 
Spain,  if  unsuccessful  in  their  search  for  three  days  more. 
To  this  brief  delay  the  mutineers  consented.  The  signs  of 
land  now  brought  almost  certainty  to  the  mind  of  the  great 
leader.  The  sounding-line  brought  up  such  soil  as  is  only 
found  near  the  shore  :  birds  were  seen  of  a  kind  supposed 
never  to  venture  on  a  long  flight.  A  piece  of  newly-cut 
cane  floated  past,  and  a  branch  of  a  tree  bearing  fresh  ber- 
ries was  taken  up  by  the  sailors.  The  clouds  around  the 
setting  sun  wore  a  new  aspect,  and  the  breeze  became  warm 
and  variable.  On  the  evening  of  the  1 1  th  of  October  every 
sail  was  furled,  and  strict  watch  kept,  lest  the  ships  might 
drift  ashore  during  the  night. 

On  board  the  admiral's  vessel  all  hands  were  invariably 
assembled  for  the  evening  hymn  ;  on  this  occasion  a  public 
prayer  for  success  was  added,  and  with  those  holy  sounds 
Columbus  hailed  the  appearance  of  that  small,  shifting  light,* 
which  crowned  with  certainty  his  long-cherished  hope,t  turned 

*  "  Puesto  que  el  amirante  a  los  diez  de  la  noche  vio  lumbre.  .  .  . 
y  era  como  una  candelilla  de  cera  que  se  alzaba  y  levantaba,  lo  cual 
a  pocos  parcciera  ser  indicio  do  tierra.  Pero  cl  amirante  tuvo  por  ci- 
erto  estar  junto  a  la  tierra.  Por  lo  qual  quando  dijeron  la  '  Salve'  que 
acoslumbran  decir  y  cantar  a  su  manera  todos  los  marinero.s,  y  de  lial- 
lan  t<xios,  vogo  y  amonestolos  el  amirante  que  hicie.sen  buena  guarda 
al  Castillo  dc  proa,  y  raira>en  bien  por  la  tierra.'" — Diar.  dc  Colon. 
Prem.   Viag.  11  de  Oct. 

t  "  Let  those  who  are  disposed  to  faint  under  difficulties,  in  the 
prosecution  of  any  great  and  worthy  undertaking,  remember  that  eight- 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.        -     45 

his  Ikith  into  realization,*  and  stamped  his  name  lorevor  upon 
the  memory  of  man.f 

It  was  by  accident  only  that  England  had  been  deprived 
of  the  glory  of  these  great  discoveries.  Columbus,  wrhen  re- 
pulsed by  the  courts  of  Portugal  and  Spain,  sent  his  brother 
Bartholomew  to  London, J  to  lay  his  projects  before  Henry 
VII.,  and  seek  assistance  for  their  execution.  The  king,  al- 
though the  most  penurious  of  European  princes,  saw  the  vast 
advantage  of  the  oiler,  and  at  once  invited  the  great  Geno- 
ese to  his  court.  Bartholomew  was,  however,  captured  by 
pirates  on  his  return  voyage,  and  detained  till  too  late,  for  in 
the  mean  while  Isabella  of  Castile  had  adopted  the  project  of 
Columbixs,  and  supplied  the  means  for  the  expedition. 

Henry  VII.  was  not  discouraged  by  this  disappointment  : 
two  years  after  the  discoveries  of  Columbus  became  known 
in  England,  the  king  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  John 
Cabot,  an  adventurous  Venetian  merchant,  resident  at  Bris- 
tol, and,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1495,  granted  him  letters 
patent  for  conquest  and  discovery.  Henry  stipulated  that 
one  fifth  of  the  gains  in  this  enterprise  was  to  be  retained 
for  the  crown,  and  that  the  vessels  engaged  in  it  should  re- 

een  years  eiapsed  after  the  time  that  Columbu.s  conceived  his  enter- 
prise before  he  was  enabled  to  carry  it  into  eflect;  that  most  of  that 
time  was  passed  in  almost  hopeless  solicitation,  amid  poverty,  neglect, 
and  taunting  ridicule ;  that  the  prime  of  his  life  had  wasted  away  in 
the  struggle,  and  that,  when  his  perseverance  was  finally  crowned 
with  success,  he  was  about  in  his  fifty-sixth  year.  This  example 
should  encourage  the  enterprising  never  to  despair." — Washington 
Irving's  hifc  of  Colmnbus,  vol.  i.,  p.  174. 

*  "  While  Columbus  lay  on  a  sick-bed  by  the  River  Belem,  he  was 
addressed  in  a  dream  by  an  unknown  voice,  distinctly  uttering  these 
words  :  '  Maravillosamente  Dios  hizo  sonar  tu  norabre  en  la  tierra ; 
de  los  atamientos  de  la  Mar  Oceana,  que  estaban  cerradas  con  cadenas 
tan  fuertes,  te  dio  las  Haves.'  (Letter  to  the  Catholic  monarch,  July 
7th,  1503.)"— Humboldt's  Cosmos.  t  See  Appendix,  No.  XIII. 

t  "The  application  to  King  Henry  VII.  was  not  made  until  1488, 
as  would  appear  from  the  inscription  on  a  map  which  Bartholomew 
presented  to  the  king.  Las  Casas  intimates,  from  letters  and  writings 
of  Bartholomew  Columbus,  in  his  possession,  that  the  latter  accompa- 
nied Bartholomew  Diaz  in  his  voyage  from  Lisbon,  in  1486,  along  the 
coast  of  Africa,  in  the  course  of  which  he  discovered  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope." — Las  Casas,  Hist.  Ind.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  vii. 


46  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

turn  to  the  port  of  Bristol.  On  the  24th  of  June,  1497, 
Cabot  discovered  the  coast  of  Labrador,  and  £rave  it  the  name 
of  Primavista.  This  was,  without  doubt,  the  first  visit  of 
Europeans  to  the  Continent  of  North  America,*  since  the 
time  of  the  Scandinavian  voyages,  A  large  island  lay  op- 
posite to  this  shore  :  from  the  vast  quantity  of  fish  frequent- 
ing the  neighboring  waters,  the  sailors  called  it  Bacallaos.f 
Cabot  gave  this  country  the  name  of  St.  John's,  having 
landed  there  on  St.  John's  day.  Newfoundland  has  long 
since  superseded  both  appellations.      John  Cabot  returned  to 

*  "  The  American  Continent  was  fir-st  discovered  under  the  auspi- 
ces of  the  English,  and  the  coast  of  the  United  States  by  a  native  of 
England  (Sebastian  Cabot  told  me  that  he  was  born  in  Bristowe)." — 
History  of  the  Travayhs  in  the  East  and  West  hidies^  by  R.  Eden  and 
R.  Willes,  1577,  fol.  267.  Posterity  hardly  remembered  that  they' 
(the  Cabots)  had  reached  the  American  Continent  nearly  four  months 
before  Columbus,  on  his  third  voyage,  came  in  sight  of  the  main-land. 
— Bancroft's  Hist,  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  11.  Charlevoix's 
"  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France,"  and  the  "  Pastes  Chronologiques," 
endeavor  to  discredit  the  discoveries  of  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  but 
the  testimonies  of  cotemporary  authors  are  decisive.  Unfortunately,  no 
journal  or  relation  remains  of  the  voyages  of  the  Cabots  to  North 
America,  but  several  authors  have  handed  down  accounts  of  them, 
which  they  received  from  the  lips  of  Sebastian  Cabot  himself.  See 
Hakluyt,  iii.,  27  ;  Galearius  Butrigarius,  in  Ramusio,  torn.  ii. ;  Ramu- 
sio.  Preface  to  tom.  iii. ;  Peter  Martyr  ab  Angleria,  Dee.  III.,  cap.  vi. ; 
Gomara,  Gen.  Hist,  of  the  West  Indies,  b.  ii.,  c.  vi.  In  Fabian's 
Chronicle,  the  writer  asserts  that  he  saw,  in  the  sixteenth  year  of 
Henry  VII.,  two  out  of  three  men  who  had  been  brought  from  "  New- 
found Island"  two  years  before).  The  grant  made  by  Edward  VI.  to 
Sebastian  Cabot  of  a  pension  equal  to  ,£1000  per  annum  of  our  mon- 
ey, attests  that  "the  good  and  acceptable  service"  for  which  it  was 
conferred  was  of  a  very  important  nature.  The  words  of  the  grant 
are  handed  down  to  us  by  Hakluyt,  vol.  iii.,  p.  31. — See  Life  of^  Henry 
VII.,  by  Lord  Bacon ;  Bacon's  Works,  vol.  iii.,  p.  356,  357. 

t  Baccalaos  was  the  name  given  by  the  natives  to  the  codfish  with 
which  these  waters  abounded.  Pietro  Martirc,  who  calls  Sebastian 
Cabot  his  "  dear  and  familiar  friend,"  speaks  of  Newfoundland  as  Bac- 
calaos; also,  Lopez  de  Gomara  and  Ramusio. 

■  '•  The  only  immediate  fniit  of  Ciibot'e  first  entcrpri.'>c  is  said  to  linve  Ijeen  the 
importation  from  America  of  the  first  turkeys  ever  seen  in  Europe.  Why  this  bird 
received  the  name  it  enjoys  in  England  has  never  been  satisfactorily  explained.  By 
the  French  it  was  called  '  Coq  d'lndc,'  on  account  of  its  American  original,  America 
being  then  generally  termed  Western  India."— Graham's  Hist,  nf  the  United  States, 
vol  i.,  p.  7. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  47 

England  in  August  of  the  same  year,  and  was  knighted  and 
otherwise  rewarded  by  the  king  ;  he  survived  but  a  very  short 
time  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  fame,  and  his  son  Sebastian 
Cabot,  although  only  twenty-three  years  of  age,  succeeded 
him  in  the  cominand  of  an  expedition  destined  to  seek  a 
northwest  passage  to  the  South  Seas. 

Sebastian  Cabot  sailed  in  the  summer  of  1498  :  he  soon 
reached  Newfoundland,  and  thence  joroceeded  north  as  far 
as  the  fifty-eighth  degree.  Having  failed  in  discovering  the 
hoped-for  passage,  he  returned  toward  the  south,  examining 
the  coast  as  far  as  the  southern  boundary  of  Maryland,  and 
perhaps  Virginia.  After  a  long  interval,  the  enterprising 
mariner  again,  in  1517,  sailed  for  America,  and  entered  the 
bay*  which,  a  century  afterward,  received  the  name  of  Hud- 
son. If  prior  discovery  confer  a  right  of  possession,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  whole  eastern  coast  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can Continent  may  be  justly  claimed  by  the  English  race.f 

Caspar  Cortereal  was  the  next  voyager  in  the  succession 
of  discoverers  :  he  had  been  brought  up  in  the  household  of 
the  King  of  Portugal,  but  nourished  an  ardent  spirit  of  en- 
terprise and  thirst  for  glory,  despite  the  enervating  influences 
of  a  court.  He  sailed  early  in  the  year  1500,  and  pursued 
the  track  of  John  Cabot  as  far  as  the  northern  point  of  New- 
foundland ;  to  him  is  due  the  discovery  of  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence,!  and  he  also  pushed  on  northward,  by  the  coast 

*  Mr.  Bancroft  pronounces  this  "  fact  to  be  indisputable,"  though 
he  acknowledges  that  "  the  testimony  respecting  this  expedition  is  con- 
fused and  difficult  of  explanation."  Sebastian  Cabot  wrote  "A  Dis- 
course of  Navigation,"  in  which  the  entrance  of  the  strait  leading  into 
Hudson's  Bay  was  laid  down  with  great  precision  ''  on  a  card,  drawn 
by  his  own  hand." — Ortelius,  Map  of  America  in  Tkeatrum  Orbis  Ter- 
raruni ;  Eden  and  Willis,  p.  223 ;  Sir  H.  Gilbert,  in  Hakluyt,  vol.  iii., 
p.  49,  50;   Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  12. 

t  The  learned  and  ingenious  author  of  the  "  Memoirs  of  Sebastian 
Cabot"  has  brought  forward  strong  arguments  against  the  discovery 
of  the  Continent  of  America  by  Jean  Vas  Cortereal  in  1494. — Hum- 
boldt's Gcog.  du  Nouveau  Coniinent^  vol.  i.,  p.  279  ;   vol.  ii.,  p.  25. 

"  The  discoverer  of  the  territory  of  our  country  was  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  men  of  his  age.  There  is  deep  cause  for  regret  that 
time  has  spared  so  few  memorials  of  his  career.  He  gave  England  a 
continent,  and  no  one  knows  his  burial-place." — Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  14. 

t  Ramusio,  vol.  iii.,  p.  417.     This  discovery  is  also  attributed  to 


48  THK  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

of  Labrador,*  almost  to  the  entrance  of  Hudson's  Bay.  The 
adventurer  returned  to  Lisbon  in  October  of  the  same  year. 
This  expedition  was  undertaken  more  for  mercantile  ad- 
vantage than  for  the  advancement  of  knowledge  ;  timber  and 
slaves  seem  to  have  been  the  objects  ;  no  less  than  fifty-seven 
of  the  natives  were  brought  back  to  Portugal,  and  doomed 
to  bondage.  These  unhappy  savages  proved  so  robust  and 
useful,  that  great  benefits  were  anticipated  from  trading  on 
their  servitude  ;t  the  dreary  and  distant  land  of  their  birth, 
covered  with  snow  for  half  the  year,  was  despised  by  the 
Portuguese,  whose  thoughts  and  hopes  were  ever  turned  to 
the  fertile  plains,  the  sunny  skies,  and  the  inexhaustible 
treasures  of  the  East.:j: 

But  disaster  and  destruction  soon  fell  upon  these  bold  and 
merciless  adventurers.  In  a  second  voyage,  the  ensuing 
year,  Cortereal  and  all  his  followers  were  lost  at  sea  :  when 
some  time  had  elapsed  without  tidings  of  their  fate,  his  broth- 
Jacques  Cartier,  who  entered  the  gulf  on  the  10th  of  August,  1535, 
and  gave  it  the  name  of  the  saint  whose  festival  was  celebrated  on 
that  day. — Charlevoix. 

*  In  an  old  map  published  in  1508,  the  Labrador  coast  is  called 
Terra  Corterealis. 

f  It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  name  Terra  de  Laborador  was 
given  to  this  coast  by  the  Portuguese  slave  merchants,  on  account  of 
the  admirable  qualities  of  the  natives  as  laborers. — Picture  of  Quebec. 

t  It  was  an  idea  entertained  by  Columbus,  that,  as  he  extended  his 
discoveries  to  climates  more  and  more  under  the  torrid  influence  of  the 
sun,  he  should  find  the  productions  of  nature  sublimated  by  its  rays  to 
more  perfect  and  precious  qualities.  Ho  was  strengthened  in  this  be- 
lief by  a  letter  written  to  him,  at  the  command  of  the  queen,  by  one 
Jayme  Ferrer,  an  eminent  and  learned  lapidary,  who,  in  the  course  of 
his  trading  for  precious  stones  and  metals,  had  been  in  the  Levant  and 
in  various  parts  of  the  East ;  had  conversed  with  tlic  merchants  of  the 
remote  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  and  the  natives  of  India,  Arabia,  and 
Ethiopia,  and  was  considered  deeply  versed  in  geography  generally, 
but  especially  in  the  nature  of  those  countries  from  whence  the  valua- 
ble merchandise  in  which  he  dealt  was  procured.  In  this  letter  Fer- 
rer assured  Columbus  that,  according  to  his  experience,  the  rarest  ob- 
jects of  commerce,  such  as  gold,  precious  stones,  drugs,  and  spices, 
were  chiefly  to  be  found  in  the  regions  about  the  equinoctial  line, 
where  the  inhaltilants  were  black,  or  darkly  colored,  and  that  until  tli« 
admiral  should  arrive  among  people  of  such  complexions,  he  did  not 
iliiiik  he  would  find  those  articles  in  great  abundance. — Navarrete, 
Coleccion,  tom.  ii..  Document  68. 


TUE  CONUUE^JT  OF  CANADA.  49 

er  sailed  to  seek  them  ;  but  he  too,  probably,  perished  in  the 
stormy  waters  of  the  North  Atlantic,  for  none  of  them  were 
ever  heard  of  more.  The  King  of  Portugal,  feeling  a  deep 
interest  iu  these  brothers,  fitted  out  three  armed  vessels  and 
sent  them  to  the  northwest.  Inquiries  were  made  along  the 
wild  shores  which  Cortereal  had  first  explored,  Avithout  trace 
or  tidings  being  found  of  the  bold  mariner,  and  the  ocean  was 
searched  for  many  months,  but  the  deep  still  keeps  it  secret. 

Florida  was  discovered  in  1512  by  Ponce  de  Leon,  one 
of  the  most  eminent  among  the  followers  of  Columbus.  The 
Indians  had  told  him  Avonderful  tales  of  a  fbuntam  called 
Bimini,  in  an  island  of  these  seas  ;  the  fountain  possessed 
the  power,  they  said,  of  restoring  instantly  youth  and  vigor 
to  those  who  bathed  in  its  waters.  He  sailed  for  months  in 
search  of  this  miraculous  spring,  landing  at  every  point,  en- 
tering each  port,  however  shallow  or  dangerous,  still  ever 
hoping ;  but  in  the  weak  and  presumptuous  effort  to  grasp 
at  a  new  life,  he  wasted  away  his  strength  and  energy,  and 
prematurely  brought  on  those  ills  of  age  he  had  vainly  hoped 
to  shun.  Nevertheless,  this  wild  adventure  bore  its  whole- 
some fruits,  for  Ponce  de  Leon  then  first  brought  to  the  no- 
tice of  Europe  that  beautiful  land  which,  from  its  wonderful 
fertility  and  the  splendor  of  its  flowers,  obtained  the  name 
of  Florida.* 

The  first  attempt  made  by  the  French  to  share  in  the  ad- 
vantages of  these  discoveries  was  in  the  year  1504.  Some 
Basque  and  Breton  fishermen  at  that  time  began  to  ply  their 
calling  on  the  Great  Bank  of  Newfoundland,  and  along  the 
adjacent  shores.  From  them  the  Island  oi'  Cape  Breton  re- 
ceived its  name.  In  1506,  Jean  Denys,  a  man  of  Harfleur, 
drew  a  map  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  Two  years  aft- 
erward, a  pilot  of  Dieppe,  named  Thomas  Aubert,  excited 
great  curiosity  in  France  by  bringing  over  some  of  the  sav- 
age natives  from  the  New  World  :  there  is  no  record  whence 
they  were  taken,  but  it  is  supposed  from  Cape  Breton.      The 

*  Rainusio,  vol.  iii.,  p.  347  ;  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  36  ;  see  Osorio, 
History  of  the  Portuguese,  b.  i. ;  Barrow's  Voyages,  p.  37-48  ;  Her- 
rera.  Dec.  I.,  lib.  vii.,  cap.  ix. ;  Ensayo  Chronologico  para  la  Historia 
general  de  la  Florida.     En  Madrid,  1723.— Quoted  by  Murray. 
VOL.  I. C 


50  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

reports  borne  back  to  France  by  these  hardy  fishermen  and 
adventurers  were  not  such  as  to  raise  sanguine  hopes  of  riches 
from  the  bleak  northern  regions  they  had  visited  :  no  teem- 
ing fertihty  or  genial  climate  tempted  the  settler,  no  mines 
of  gold  or  silver  excited  the  avarice  of  the  soldier  ;*  and  for 
many  years  the  French  altogether  neglected  to  profit  by  their 
discoveries. 

In  the  mean  time,  Pope  Alexander  VI.  issued  a  bull 
bestowing  the  whole  of  the  New  World  upon  the  kings  of 
Spain  and  Portugal. t  Neither  England  nor  France  allowed 
the  right  of  conferring  this  magnificent  and  undefined  gift ; 
it  did  not  throw  the  slightest  obstacle  m  the  path  of  British 
enterprise  and  discovery,  and  the  high-spirited  Francis  I.  of 
France  refused  to  acknowledge  the  papal  decree. f 

In  the  year  1523,  Francis  I.  fitted  out  a  squadron  of  four 
ships  to  pursue  discovery s^  in  the  west ;  the  command  was 
intrusted  to  Giovanni  Verazzano,  of  Florence,  a  navigator 
of  great  skill  and  experience,  then  residing   in  France  :   he 

*  "  Les  demande.s  ordinaire^  qu'on  nous  fait  sont,  '  Y  a-t-il  des  tre- 
sors  ?  Y  a-t-il  dc  Tor  ct  de  I'argent  ?'  Et  pensonne  ne  demande, 
'  Ces  peuples  la  sont  il  disposes  a  entendre  la  doctrine  Chretienne  ?' 
Et  quant  aux  mines,  il  y  en  a  vraiment,  mais  il  les  faut  fouiller  avec 
Industrie,  labeur  et  patience.  La  plus  belle  mine  que  je  sache,  c'est 
<lu  bled  et  du  vin,  avec  la  nourriture  du  bestial ;  qui  a  de  ceci,  il  a  do 
I'argent,  et  des  mines,  nous  n'en  vivons  point." — Marc  I'Escarbot. 

t  This  bold  stretch  of  papal  authority,  so  often  ridiculed  as  chimer- 
ical and  absurd,  was  in  a  measure  justified  by  the  event,  since  it  did, 
in  fact,  determine  the  principle  on  which  the  vast  extent  of  unappro- 
priated empire  in  the  eastern  and  western  hemispheres  was  ultimately 
divided  between  two  petty  states  of  Europe.  Alexander  had  not  even 
the  excuse  that  he  thought  he  was  disposing  of  uncultivated  and  unin- 
habited regions,  since  he  specifies  in  his  donation  both  towns  and  cas- 
tles :   "  Civitates  et  castra  in  pcrpetuum  tenorc  pra:scntium  donamus."' 

t  "What,"  said  Francis  I.,  ".shall  the  kings  of  Spain  and  Portugal 
divide  all  America  between  them,  without  suitcrintj  me  to  take  a  share 
as  their  brother  ?  I  would  fain  see  the  article  in  Adam's  will  that  be- 
queaths that  vast  inheritance  to  them." — Encyclopedia,  vol.  iv.,  p.  695. 

^  "  In  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  Francis,  by  a  strict  economy  of 
the  public  money,  repaired  the  evils  of  his  early  extravagance,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  he  wa.s  enabled  to  spare  sidFieient  for  carrying  on 
the  magnificent  public  institutions  he  had  undertaken,  and  for  forward- 
ing the  progress  of  discovery,  of  the  fine  arts,  and  of  literature." — 
Bacon's  LijCc  and  Times  of  Francis  I .  p.  399-401. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  51 

was  about  thirty-eight  years  of  age,  nobly  born,  and  liberally 
educated  ;  the  causes  that  induced  him  to  leave  his  own 
country  and  take  service  in  France  are  not  known.  It  has 
often  been  remarked  as  strange  that  three  Italians  should 
have  directed  the  discoveries  of  Spain,  England,  and  France, 
and  thus  become  the  instruments  of  dividing  the  dominions 
of  the  New  World  among  alien  powers,  while  their  own 
classic  land  reaped  neither  glory  nor  advantage  from  the  gen- 
ius and  courage  of  her  sons.  Of  this  first  voyage  the  only 
record  remaining  is  a  letter  from  Verazzano  to  Francis  I., 
dated  8th  of  July,  1524,  merely  stating  that  he  had  returned 
in  safety  to  Dieppe. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  folio-wing  year  Verazzano  fitted 
out  and  armed  a  vessel  called  the  Dauphine,  manned  with 
a  CTCw  of  thirty  hands,  and  provisioned  for  eight  months. 
He  first  directed  his  course  to  Madeira  ;  having  reached  that 
island  in  safety,  he  left  it  on  the  1  7th  of  January  and  steered 
for  the  west.  After  a  narrow  escape  from  the  violence  of  a 
tempest,  and  having  proceeded  for  about  nine  hundred  leagues, 
a  long,  low  line  of  coast  rose  to  view,  never  before  seen  by 
ancient  or  modern  navigators.  This  country  appeared  thick- 
ly peopled  by  a  vigorous  race,  of  tall  stature  and  athletic 
form  ;  fearing  to  risk  a  landing  at  first  with  his  weak  force, 
the  adventurer  contented  himself  with  admiring  at  a  distance 
the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  scenery,  and  enjoying  the 
delightful  mildness  of  the  climate.  From  this  place  he  fol- 
lowed the  coast  for  about  fifty  leagues  to  the  south,  without 
discovering  any  harbor  or  inlet  where  he  might  shelter  his 
vessel ;  he  then  retraced  his  course  and  steered  to  the  north. 
After  some  time  Verazzano  ventured  to  send  a  small  boat  on 
shore  to  examine  the  country  more  closely  ;  numbers  of  sav- 
ages came  to  the  water's  edge  to  meet  the  strangers,  and 
gazed  on  them  with  mingled  feelings  of  surprise,  admiration, 
joy,  and  fear.  He  again  resumed  his  northward  course,  till, 
driven  by  want  of  water,  he  armed  the  small  boat  and  sent 
it  once  more  toward  the  land  to  seek  a  supply  ;  the  waves 
and  surf,  however,  were  so  great  that  it  could  not  reach  the 
shore.  The  natives  assembled  on  the  beach,  by  their  signs 
and  gestures, 'eagerly  invited  the  French  to  approach  :  one 


52  THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

young  sailor,  a  bold  swimmer,  threw  himself  into  the  water, 
bearing  some  presents  for  the  savages,  but  his  heart  failed 
him  on  a  nearer  approach,  and  he  turned  to  regain  the  boat ; 
his  strength  was  exhausted,  however,  and  a  heavy  sea  wash- 
ed him,  almost  insensible,  up  upon  the  beach.  The  Indians 
treated  him  with  great  kindness,  and,  when  he  had  suffi- 
ciently recovered,  sent  him  back  in  safety  to  the  ship.* 

Verazzano  pursued  his  examination  of  the  coast  with  un- 
tiring zeal,  narrowly  searching  every  inlet  for  a  passage 
through  to  the  westward,  until  he  reached  the  great  island 
known  to  the  Breton  fishermen — Newfoundland.  In  this 
important  voyage  he  surveyed  more  than  two  thousand  miles 
of  coast,  nearly  all  that  of  the  present  United  States,  and  a 
great  portion  of  British  North  America. 

A  short  time  after  Verazzano's  return  to  Europe,  he  fitted 
out  another  expedition,  with  the  sanction  of  Francis  I.,  for 
the  establishment  of  a  colony  in  the  newly-discovered  coun- 
tries. Nothing  certain  is  known  of  the  fate  of  this  enter- 
prise, but  the  bold  navigator  returned  to  France  no  more  ; 
the  dread  inspired  by  his  supposed  fatef  deterred  the  French 
king  and  people  from  any  further  adventure  across  the  At- 
lantic during  many  succeeding  years.  In  later  times  it  has 
come  to  light  that  Verazzano  was  alive  thirteen  years  after 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XIV. 

t  "  Navigo  anche  lungo  la  detta  terra  Tanno  ]  524  un  gran  capita- 
no  del  Re  Christianissimo  France.sco,  detto  Giovanni  da  Verazzano, 
Fiorentino,  e  scorse  tutta  la  costa  fino  alia  Florida,  come  per  una  sua 
lettera  sciitta  al  detto  Re,  particolarmente  si  vedia  la  qual  sola  abbia- 
mo  potuto  avere  perciocche  Taltre  si  sono  smarritc  nelli  travagli  della 
povera  citta  di  Fiorenza  e  nell'  ultimo  viairgio  ohe  esso  fcce,  avendo 
voluto  smontar  in  terra  con  alcuni  compagni,  furono  tutti  raorti  da 
quei  popoli,  e  in  prcsentia  di  coloro  chc  erano  rimasi  nelle  navi,  furono 
arrostiti  c  mangcati."  (Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  p.  41 G.)  The  Baron  La 
Houtan  and  La  Pothcrie  give  the  same  account  of  Verazzano's  end ; 
they  are  not,  however,  very  tru.stworthy  authorities.  Le  Beau  repeats 
the  same  story ;  but  Charlevoix's  words  are,  "  Jc  ne  trouve  aucun 
fondement  si  ce  que  quelques  uns  ont  public,  qu'ayant  mis  pied  a  terre 
dans  un  endroit  ou  il  voulait  batir  un  fort,  Ics  sauvages  .se  jeterent  sur 
lui,  le  massacrerent  avec  tous  ses  gens  et  Ic  mangercnt."  A  Spanish 
historian  has  asserted,  contrary  to  all  probability,  that  Verazzano  was 
taken  by  the  Spaniards,  and  hung  as  a  pirate. — D.  Andres  Gonzalez 
de  Barcia,  Ensayo  Chronologico  para  la  Jlistoria  delta  Florida. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  53 

this  period  :*  those  best  informed  on  the  subject  are  of  opin- 
ion that  the  enterprise  fell  to  the  ground  in  consequence  of 
Francis  I.  having  been  captured  by  the  Emperor  Charles  V., 
and  that  the  adventurer  withdrew  himself  from  the  service 
of  France,  having  lost  his  patron's  support. 

The  year  after  the  failure  of  Verazzano's  last  enterprise, 
1525,  Stefano  Gomez  sailed  from  Spain  for  Cuba  and  Flor- 
ida ;  thence  he  steered  northward  in  search  of  the  long-hoped- 
for  passage  to  India,  till  he  reached  Cape  Race,  on  the  south- 
eastern extremity  of  Newfoundland.  The  further  details  of 
his  voyage  remain  unknown,  but  there  is  reason  to  suppose 
that  he  entered  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  traded  upon 
its  shores.  An  ancient  Castilian  tradition  existed  that  the 
Spaniards  visited  these  coasts  before  the  French,  and  having 
perceived  no  appearance  of  mines  or  riches,  they  exclaimed 
frequently,  "  Aca  nada  ;"t  the  natives  caught  up  the  sound, 
and  when  other  Europeans  arrived,  repeated  it  to  them. 
The  strangers  concluded  that  these  words  were  a  designa- 
tion, and  from  that  time  this  magnificent  country  bore  the 
name  of  Canada. | 

*  Tiraboschi,  Storia  della  Literatura  Italiana,  vol.  vii.,  p.  261,  262. 
— Quoted  in  the  Picture  of  Quebec,  to  which  valuable  work  J.  C.  Fish- 
er, Esq.,  president  of  the  Literary  and  Historical  Society  of  Quebec, 
largely  contributed. 

t  Signifying  "  here  is  nothing."  The  insatiable  thirst  of  the  Span- 
ish discoverers  for  gold  is  justified  by  the  greatest  of  all  discoverers, 
the"  disinterested  Columbus  himself,  on  high  religious  principles. 
When  acquainting  their  Castilian  majesties  with  the  abundance  of 
gold'  to  be  procured  in  the  newly-found  countries,  he  thus  speaks, 
"El  ore  es  excelentisimo,  del  oro  se  hace  tesoro;  y  con  el  quien  lo 
tiene  hace  quanto  quiere  en  el  mundo,  y  elega  a  que  echa  las  animas 
al  paraiso."  (Navan-ete,  Colcccion  de  los  Viagcs,  vol.  i.,  p.  309.)  A 
passage  which  the  modern  editor  of  his  papers  aflirms  to  be  in  con- 
formity with  many  texts  of  Scripture. 

t  Father  Hennepin  asserts  that  the  Spaniards  were  the  first  dis- 

•  The  historian  Herrera,  writing  in  the  light  of  experience,  makes  use  of  the  strong 
expression,  that  "  mines  were  a  lure  devised  by  the  evil  spirit  to  draw  the  Spaniards 
on  to  destruction."  "  L'Espagne,"  says  Montesquieu,  "  a  fait  comme  ce  roi  insense, 
qui  demanda  que  tout  ce  qu'il  toucheroit  se  oonvertit  en  or,  et  qui  fut  obligti  de  re- 
venir  aux  Dieux,  pour  les  prier  de  finir  sa  misere." — Esprit des Loix,Vib.xKi.,caip.2!i. 

"  Les  mines  du  Perou  et  du  Mexique  ne  valoient  pas  meme  pour  I'Espagne  ce 
qu'elle  auroit  tire  de  son  propre  fonds  en  los  cultivant.  Avec  tant  de  tresors  Phi- 
lippe II.  lit  bauqueroute." — >rillot.  "  Paturage  et  labourage,"  said  the  wise  Sully, 
"  valent  mieiix  que  tout  I'or  du  P6rou." 


54  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

coverers  of  Canada,  and  that,  findinsr  nothing  there  to  gratify  their  ex- 
tensive desires  for  gold,  they  bestowed  upon  it  the  appellation  of  El 
Capo  di  Nada,  "Cape  Nothing,"  whence,  by  corruption,  its  present 
name. — Nouvclle  Description  df-iin  tres  grand  jiays  sitvx  d(ms  P^mer- 
ique  entre  le  Nouvcau  Mexiquc  et  la  Mcr  Glacialc,  dcpuis  Van  1667 
jusqu'  en  1670.  Par  le  Pere  Lotus  Hennepin,  Missionaire  Recollet  a 
Utrecht,  1697. 

La  Potherie  gives  the  same  derivation.  Histoire  de  fAmerique 
Seplcntrionale  par  M.  de  Bacqucville  de  la  Potherie,  a  Paris,  1722. 
The  opinion  expressed  in  a  note  of  Charlevoix  (Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle 
France,  vol.  i.,  p.  13),  is  that  deserving  most  credit.  "  D'autres  de- 
rivent  cc  nom  du  mot  Iroquois  '  Kannata,'  qui  se  prononce  Cannada, 
et  signifie  un  amas  de  cabanes."  This  derivation  would  reconcile  the 
different  assertions  of  the  early  discoverers,  some  of  whom  give  the 
name  of  Canada  to  the  whole  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence ;  others, 
equally  worthy  of  credit,  confine  it  to  a  small  district  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Stadacona  (now  Quebec).  Seconda  Relatione  di  Jacques  Car- 
tier,  in  Ramusio,  torn,  iii.,  p.  442,  447.  "  Questo  popolo  (di  Hoche- 
laga)  non  partendo  mai  del  loro  paese,  ne  esscndo  vagabondi,  come 
quelli  di  Canada  e  di  Saguenay  benche  dette  di  Canada  sieno  lor  sug- 
getti  con  otte  o  nove  altri  villaggi  posti  sopra  detto  fiume."  Father 
du  Creux,  who  arrived  in  Canada  about  the  year  1625,  in  his  "  His- 
toria  Canadensis,"  gives  the  name  of  Canada  to  the  whole  valley  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  confessing,  however,  his  ignorance  of  the  etymology  : 
"  Porro  de  Etymologia  vocis  Canada  nihil  satis  certe  potui  comperire ; 
priscam  quidem  esse,  constat  ex  eo,  quod  illam  ante  annos  prope  sex- 
aginta  passim  usurpari  audiebam  puer." 

Dupon^-eau,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Phil- 
adelphia, founds  his  conjecture  of  the  Indian  origin  of  the  name  of 
Canada  upon  the  fact  that,  in  the  translation  uf  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew  into  the  Mohawk  tongue,  made  by  Brandt,  the  Indian  chief, 
the  word  Canada  is  always  used  to  signify  a  village.  The  mistake  of 
the  early  discoverers,  in  taking  the  name  of  a  part  for  that  of  the  whole, 
is  very  pardonable  in  persons  ignorant  of  the  Indian  language.  It  is 
highly  improbable  that  at  the  period  of  its  discovery  the  name  of  Can- 
ada was  extended  over  this  immense  country.  The  migratory  habits 
of  the  aborigines  arc  alone  conclusive  against  it.  They  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  different  tribes,  not  by  the  country  over  which  they 
hunted  and  rode  at  will.  They  more  probably  gave  names  to  locali- 
ties than  adopted  their  own  from  any  fixed  place  of  residence.  The 
Iroquois  and  the  Ottavvas  conferred  their  ap|>ellations  on  the  rivers 
that  ran  through  their  hunting  grounds,  and  the  Huron  tribe  gave 
theirs  to  the  va.st  lake  now  bearing  their  name.  It  has,  however, 
never  been  pretended  that  any  Indian  tribe  bore  the  name  of  Canada, 
and  the  natural  conclusion  therefore  is,  that  the  word  '"  Canada"  was 
a  mere  local  appellation,  without  reference  to  the  country;  that  each 
tribe  had  their  own  "  Canada,"  or  collection  of  huts,  which  shifted  its 
position  according  to  their  migrations. 


THK  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  55 

Dr.  Doujrlas,  in  his  "American  History,''  pretends  that  Canada  de- 
rives its  name  from  Monsieur  Kane  or  Cane,  whom  he  advances  to 
have  been  the  first  adventurer  in  the  River  St.  Lawrence. — Knox's 
Historical  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  303. 


CHAPTER   II 

In  the  year  1534,  Philip  Chabot,  admiral  of  France, 
urged  the  king  to  establish  a  colony  in  the  New  World,* 
by  representing  to  him  in  glowing  colors  the  great  riches 
and  power  derived  by  the  Spaniards  from  their  transatlantic 
possessions.  Francis  I.,  alive  to  the  importance  of  the  de- 
sign, soon  agreed  to  carry  it  out.  Jacques  Cartier,  an 
experienced  navigator  of  St.  Malo,  was  recommended  by  the 
admiral  to  be  intrusted  with  the  expedition,  and  was  ap- 
proved of  by  the  king.  On  the  20th  of  April,  1534,  Car- 
tier  sailed  from  St.  Malo  with  two  ships  of  only  sixty  tons 
burden  each,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  for  their 
crews  :t  he  directed  his  course  westward,  inclining  rather 
to  the  north  ;  the  winds  proved  so  favorable,  that  on  the 
twentieth  day  of  the  voyage  he  made  Cape  Bonavista,  in 
Newfoundland.  But  the  harbors  of  that  dreary  country 
were  still  locked  up  in  the  winter's  ice,  forbidding  the  ap- 
proach of  shipping  :  he  then  bent  to  the  southeast,  and  at 
length  found  anchorage  at  St.  Catharine,  six  degrees  lower 
m  latitude.  Having  remained  here  ten  days,  he  again  turn- 
ed to  the  north,  and  on  the  21st  of  May  reached  Bird  Island, 
fourteen  leagues  from  the  coast. 

Jacques  Cartier  examined  all  the  northern  shores  of  New- 
foundland, without  having  ascertained  that  it  was  an  island, 
and  then  passed  southward  through  the  Straits  of  Belleisle. 
The  country  appeared  every  where  the  same  bleak  and  in- 
hospitable wilderness  ;t  but  the  harbors  were  numerous,  con- 

*  Hist,  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  par  le  Pere  Charlevoix,  de  la  Com- 
pagnie  de  Jesus,  vol.  i.,  p.  11  ;  Fastes  Chronologiques,  1534. 

t  Prima  Relatione  de  Jacques  Cartier  della  Terra  Nouva,  detta  la 
Nouva  Francia,  in  Ramusio,  torn,  iii.,  p.  435. 

t  "  Se  la  terra  fosse  cosi  buono,  come  vi  sono  buoni  port!,  sarebbe 


66  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

venient,  and  abounding  in  fish.  He  describes  the  natives  as 
well-proportioned  men,  wearing  their  hair  tied  up  over  their 
heads  hke  bundles  of  hay,  quaintly  interlaced  with  birds' 
feathers.*  Changing  his  course  still  more  to  the  south,  he 
then  traversed  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  approached  the 
main-land,  and  on  the  9th  of  July  entered  a  deep  bay  ;  from 
the  intense  heat  experienced  there,  he  named  it  the  "  Baye 
de  Chaleurs."  The  beauty  of  the  country,  and  the  kindness 
and  hospitality  of  his  reception,  alike  charmed  him  ;  he  car- 
ried on  a  little  trade  with  the  friendly  savages,  exchanging 
European  goods  for  their  furs  and  provisions. 

Leaving  this  bay,  Jacques  Cartier  visited  a  considerable 
extent  of  the  gulf  coast ;  on  the  24th  of  July  he  erected  a 
cross  thirty  feet  high,  with  a  shield  bearing  the  .fleurs-de-lys 
of  France,  on  the  shore  of  Gaspe  Bay.f  Having  thus  taken 
possession!  of  the  country  for  his  king  in  the  usual  manner 

un  gran  bene,  ma  ella  non  si  debba  chiamar  Terra  Nouva,  anzi  sassi 
e  grebani  .salvatichi,  e  proprij  luoghi  da  fiere,  per  cio  che  in  tutto  I'isola 
di  Tramontana — [translated  by  Hakhiyt  "the  northern  part  of  the  isl- 
and"]— io  non  vicli  tanta  terra  che  se  ne  potesse  eoricar  un  earro,  e  vi 
smontai  in  pareechi  luoghi,  e  all'  isola  di  Bianco  Sabbionc  non  v'e  altro 
che  musco,  e  piccioli  spini  dispersi,  secchi.  e  morti,  e  in  somma  io  pen- 
.so  che  questa  sia  la  terra  che  Iddio  dette  a  Caino." — J.  Cartier,  in 
Ramusio,  torn,  iii.,  p.  436. 

The  journal  of  the  first  two  voyages  of  Cartier  is  preserved  almost 
entire  in  the  "  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France,"  by  L'Esearbot ;  thei-e 
is  an  Italian  translation  in  the  third  volume  of  Ramusio.  They  are 
written  in  the  third  person,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  him- 
self the  author. 

*  "  Sono  uomini  d'assai  bella  vita  e  grandezza  ma  indomiti  e  sal- 
vatichi :  portano  i  capelli  in  cuna  legati  c  strctti  a  guisa  d'un  pugno 
di  fieno  rivolto,  mettendone  in  mezzo  un  legnetto,  o  alti'a  cosa  in  vece 
di  chiodo,  e  vi  legano  insieme  certe  penne  d'uccelli." — J.  Cartier,  in 
Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  p.  436.  t  De  Laiit.,  vol.  i.,  p.  58. 

t  This  was  ingeniously  represented  to  the  natives  as  a  religious 
ceremony,  and,  as  such,  excited  nothing  but  the  '•  grandissiraa  amnii- 
razione"  of  the  natives  present;  it  was,  however,  diflerently  under- 
stood by  their  chief.  "  Ma  cssendo  noi  i-itornati  alle  nostra  navi,  venne 
il  Capitano  lor  vestito  d"im  pella  vccchia  d'orso  negro  in  una  barca 
con  tre  suoi  figliuoli,  e  ei  fecc  un  lungo  sermono  mostrandaci  detta 
croce  e  facendo  il  segno  dclla  croco  con  due  dita  poi  ci  mostrava  la 
terra  tutta  intorno  di  noi  come  s'avessc  voluto  dice  che  tutta  era  sua, 
e  che  noi  non  dovevamo  plantar  detta  croce  senza  sua  licenza." — .f. 
Cartier,  in  Ramusio,  torn,  iii.,  p.  139. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  57 

of  those  days,  he  sailed,  the  25th  of  July,  on  his  homeward 
voyage  ;  at  this  place  two  of  the  natives  were  seized  by  strat- 
agem, carried  on  board  the  ships,  and  borne  away  to  France. 
Cartier  coasted  along  the  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf  till  the 
1 5th  of  August,  and  even  entered  the  mouth  of  the  River  St. 
Lawrence,  but  the  weather  becoming  stormy,  he  determined 
to  delay  his  departure  no  longer  :  he  passed  again  through 
the  Straits  of  Belleisle,  and  arrived  at  St.  Malo  on  the  5th 
of  September,  1534,  contented  with  his  success,  and  full  of 
hope  for  the  future. 

Jacques  Cartier  was  received  with  the  consideration  due 
to  the  importance  of  his  report.  The  court  at  once  perceived 
the  advantage  of  an  establishment  in  this  part  of  America, 
and  resolved  to  take  steps  for  its  foundation.  Charles  de 
Money,  Sieur  de  la  Mailleraye,  vice-admiral  of  France,  was 
the  most  active  patron  of  the  undertaking ;  through  his  in- 
fluence Cartier  obtained  a  more  effective  force,  and  a  new 
commission,  with  ampler  powers  than  before.  When  the 
preparations  for  the  voyage  were  completed,  the  adventurers 
all  assembled  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Malo,  on  Whitsunday, 
r535,  by  the  command  of  their  pious  leader  ;  the  bishop 
then  gave  them  a  solemn  benediction,  with  all  the  imposing 
ceremonials  of  the  Romish  Church. 

On  the  1 9th  of  May  Jacques  Cartier  embarked,  and  start- 
ed on  his  voyage  with  fair  wind  and  weather.  The  fleet 
consisted  of  three  small  ships,  the  largest  being  only  one 
hundred  and  twenty  tons  burden.  Many  adventurers  and 
young  men  of  good  family  accompanied  the  expedition  as 
volunteers.  On  the  morrow  the  wind  became  adverse,  and 
rose  to  a  storm  ;  the  heavens  lowered  over  the  tempestuous 
sea ;  for  more  than  a  month  the  utmost  skill  of  the  mari- 
ners could  only  enable  them  to  keep  their  ships  afloat,  while 
tossed  about  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves.  The  little  fleet 
was  dispersed  on  the  25th  of  June  :  each  vessel  then  made 
for  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  as  it  best  might.  The  gen- 
eral's vessel,  as  that  of  Cartier  was  called,  was  the  first  to 
gain  the  land,  on  the  7th  of  July,  and  there  awaited  her 
consorts  ;  but  they  did  not  arrive  till  the  26th  of  the  month. 
Having  taken  in  supplies  of  fuel  and  water,  they  sailed  in. 
C  2 


58  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

company  to  explore  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  A  violent 
storm  arose  on  the  1st  of  August,  forcing  them  to  seek  shel- 
ter. They  happily  found  a  port  on  the  north  shore,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Great  River,  where,  though  diflicult  of  access, 
there  was  a  safe  anchorage.  Jacques  Cartier  called  it  St. 
Nicolas,  and  it  is  now  almost  the  only  place  still  bearing  the 
name  he  gave.  They  left  their  harbor  on  the  7th,  coasting 
westward  along  the  north  shore,  and  on  the  10th  came  to  a 
gulf  filled  with  numerous  and  beautiful  islands.*  Cartier 
gave  this  gulf  the  name  of  St.  Lawrence,  having  discovered 
it  on  that  saint's  festival  day.f 

On  the  15th  of  August  they  reached  a  long,  rocky  island 
toward  the  south,  which  Cartier  named  L'Isle  de  I'Assump- 
tion,  now  called  Anticosti.J  Thence  they  coiitinued  their 
course,  examining  carefully  both  shores  of  the  Great  River, § 

*  "  Trovavamo  un  molto  bello  e  gran  golfo  pieno  d"isolc  e  buone 
entrate  e  passaggi,  verso  qual  vento  si  possa  fare." — J.  Cartier,  in 
Ramusio,  torn,  iii.,  j).  441. 

t  "  Carthier  donna  an  golphe  le  nom  de  St.  Laurent,  ou  plutot  il  lo 
donna  a  une  baye  qui  est  entre  I'isle  d'Anticoste  et  la  cote  septentri- 
onale,  d'ou  ce  nom  s'est  etendu  a  tout  le  golphe  dont  cette  baye  fait 
partie." — Hist,  dc  la  Nouvelle  France,  torn,  i.,  p.  15. 

t  "  Des  sauvages  rappelloient  Natisootec,  le  nom  d'Anticosti  para'it 
lui  avoir  ete  donne  par  les  Anglais." — Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  16. 
This  island  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  long,  and  in  its  wid- 
est part  thirty  mile.s,  dividing  the  River  St.  Lawrence  into  two  chan- 
nels. Throughout  its  whole  extent  it  has  neither  bay  nor  harbor  suf- 
ficiently safe  to  shelter  ships.  It  is  uncultivated,  being  generally  of 
an  unprofitable  soil,  upon  which  any  attempted  improvements  have 
met  with  very  unpromising  results.  Since  the  year  1809,  establish- 
ments have  been  formed  on  the  island  for  the  relief  of  shipwrecked 
persons ;  two  men  reside  there,  at  two  diflerent  stations,  all  the  year 
round,  furnished  with  provisions  for  the  use  of  those  who  may  have  the 
misfortune  to  need  th<'m.  Boards  are  placed  in  dilferent  parts  describ- 
infr  the  distance  and  direction  to  these  friendly  spots  ;  instances  of  tho 
most  fiagrant  inattention  have,  however,  occurred,  which  were  attends 
ed  with  the  most  distressing  and  fatal  consequences." — Bonchetti,  voL 
i.,  p.  169. 

"  At  present  the  whole  island  might  be  purchased  for  a  few  hund' 
red  pounds.  It  belongs  to  some  gentlemen  in  Quebec  ;  and  you 
might,  for  a  very  small  sum,  become  one  of  the  greatest  land-owners 
in  the  world,  and  a  Canadian  seigneur  into  the  bargain." — Grey's 
Canada. 

§  This  is  the  first  discovery  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  called  by 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  50 

and  occasionally  holding  communication  with  the  inhabit- 
ants, till,  on  the  1st  of  September,  they  entered  the  mouth 
of  the  deep  and  gloomy  Saguenay.  The  entrance  of  this 
great  tributary  was  all  they  had  leisure  to  survey  ;  but  the 
huge  rocks,  dense  forests,  and  vast  body  of  water,  forming  a 
scene  of  somber  magnificence  such  as  had  never  before  met 
their  view,  inspired  them  with  an  exalted  idea  of  the  coun- 
try they  had  discovered.  Still  passing  to  the  southwest  up 
the  St.  Lawrence,  on  the  6th  they  reached  an  island  abound- 
ing in  delicious  filberts,  and  on  that  account  named  by  the 
voyagers  Isle  aux  Coudres.  Cartier,  being  now  so  far  ad- 
vanced into  an  unknown  country,  looked  out  anxiously  for  a 
port  where  his  vessels  might  winter  in  safety.  He  pursued 
his  voyage  till  he  came  upon  another  island,  of  great  extent, 
fertility,  and  beauty,  covered  with  woods  and  thick,  cluster- 
ing vines.      This  he  named  Isle  de  Bacchus  :*  it  is  now 


the  natives  the  River  Hochelaga,  or  the  River  of  Canada.  Jacques 
Cartier  accurately  determined  the  breadth  of  its  mouth  ninety  miles 
across.  Cape  Rosier,  a  small  distance  to  the  north  of  the  point  of 
Gaspe,  is  properly  the  place  which  marks  the  opening  of  the  gigantic 
river.  "  V'e  tra  !e  terre  d'ostro  e  quelle  di  tramontana  la  distaiitia  di 
trenta  leghe  in  circa,  e  piu  di  dugcnto  braccia  di  fondo.  Ci  dissero 
anche  i  detti  salvatichi  e  certificarono  quivi  essere  il  cammino  e  prin- 
cipio  del  gran  fiume  di  Hochelaga  e  strada  di  Canada." — J.  Cartier, 
in  Ramusio,  torn,  iii.,  p.  442. 

J.  Cartier  always  afterward  speaks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  as  the  Riv- 
er of  Hochelaga,  or  Canada.  Charlevoix  says,  "  Parceque  le  fleuve 
qu'on  appelloit  auparavant  la  Riviere  de  Canada  se  decharge  dans  Ic 
Golphe  de  St.  Laurent,  il  a  insensiblement  pris  le  nom  de  Fleuve  de 
St.  Laurent,  qu'il  porte  aujourd'hui  (1720)." 

*  "  Lorsque  Jacques  Carthier  decouvrit  cette  ile,  il  la  trouva  toute 
remplie  de  vignes,  et  la  nomma  I'lle  de  Bacchus.  Ce  navigateur  etait 
Breton,  apres  lui  sont  venus  des  Normands  qui  ont  arrache  les  vignes 
et  a  Bacchus  ont  substitute  Pomone  et  Ceres.  En  effet  elle  produit 
de  bon  froment  et  d'excellent  fruits." — Journal  Historique,  lettre  ii., 
p.  102. 

Charlevoix  also  mentions  that,  when  he  visited  the  islands  in  1 720, 
the  inhabitants  were  famed  for  their  skill  in  sorcery,  and  were  sup- 
posed to  hold  intercourse  with  the  devil ! 

The  Lsle  of  Orleans  was,  in  1676,  created  an  earldom,  by  the  title 
of  St.  Laurent,  which,  however,  has  long  been  extinct.  The  fir.st 
Comte  de  St.  Laurent  was  of  the  name  of  Berthelot. — Charlevoix,  vol. 
v.,  p.  99. 


60  TllK    CONQUr.-=T    OF    CAXADA. 

called  Orleans.  On  the  7th  of  September,  Donnacoua,  the 
chief  of  the  country,*  came  with  twelve  canoes  filled  by  his 
train,  to  hold  converse  with  the  strangers,  whose  ships  lay 
at  anchor  between  the  island  and  the  north  shore  of  the 
Great  Fwiver.  The  Indian  chief  approached  the  smallest 
of  the  ships  with  only  two  canoes,  fearful  of  causing  alarm, 
and  began  an  oration,  accompanied  with  strange  and  un- 
couth gestures.  After  a  time  he  conversed  with  the  Indians 
who  had  been  seized  on  the  former  voyage,  and  now  acted  as 
interpreters.  He  heard  from  them  of  their  wonderful  visit 
to  the  great  nation  over  the  salt  lake,  of  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  the  white  men,  and  of  the  kind  treatment  they  had 
received  among  the  strangers.  Donnacona  appeared  moved 
with  deep  respect  and  admiration  ;  he  took  Jacques  Cartier's 
arm  and  placed  it  gently  over  his  ov.^n  bended  neck,  in  token 
of  confidence  and  regard.  The  admiral  cordially  returned 
these  friendly  demonstrations.  He  entered  the  Indian's  ca- 
noe, and  presented  bread  and  wine,  which  they  ate  and 
drank  together.      They  then  parted  in  all  amity. 

After  this  happy  interview,  Jacques  Gartier,  with  his 
boats,  pushed  up  the  north  shore  against  the  stream,  till  he 
reached  a  spot  where  a  little  river  flowed  into  a  "goodly  and 
pleasant  sound,"  forming  a  convenient  haven. t     He  moored 

*  "  II  signor  de  Canada  (chiamato  Donnacona  per  nome,  ma  per 
signore  il  chiamano  Agouhanna)." — J.  Cartier,  in  Ramu.sio,  torn,  iii., 
p.  442.     Agouhanna  signified  chief  or  lord. 

Here,  says  Jacques  Cartier,  begins  the  country  of  Canada.  "II 
settimo  giorno  di  detto  mese  la  vigilia  della  Madonna,  dopo  udita  la 
messa  ci  partimmo  dall'  isola  dc'  noccllari  per  andar  allinsu  di  delta 
fiume,  e  arrivamo  a  quattordici  isole  distanti  dalP  isola  de  Noccllari 
intorno  sef.to  in  otto  leghe,  c  quivi  e  il  principio  della  provincia,  e  ter- 
ra di  Canada." — J.  Cartier,  in  Ramusio,  toni.  iii.,  p.  442. 

t  The  -WTilcr  of  these  pages  adds  the  tesiimony  of  an  eye-witness 
to  the  opinion  of  the  ingenious  author  of  the  '"  Pictiu'c  of  (iuebec,"  as 
to  the  localities  here  described.  The  old  writers,  even  Charlevoix 
himself,  have  asserted  that  the  "  Port  St.  Croix  was  at  the  entrance  of 
the  river  now  called  Jacques  Cartier,  which  flows  into  the  St.  Law- 
rence about  fifteen  miles  above  Quebec.''  Charlevoix,  indeed,  men- 
lions  that  "  Champlain  pn'tend  que  cctte  riviere  est  cclle  de  St.  Charles, 
mals,"  he  adds,  "  il  se  trompe,"  &c.  However,  the  localities  are  still 
imchanged ;  though  three  centuries  have  since  elapsed,  the  description 
of  Jacques  Cartier  is  easily  recognized  at  the  present  day.  and  marks 


TIIK    CONaUE.ST    OF    CANADA.  61 

his  vessels  here  for  the  winter  on  the  16  th  of  September,  and 
gave  the  name  of  St.  Croix  to  the  stream,  in  honor  of  the  day 

oat  the  mouth  of  the  little  River  St.  Charles'  as  the  first  winter  station 
of  the  Europeans  in  Canada.  The  following  are  J.  Cartier's  words  ; 
"  Per  cercar  luogo  e  porto  sicuro  da  metter  le  nave,  e  andammo  al  con- 
trario  per  detto  flume  intorno  di  dieci  leghe  eostezziando  detta  isola 
(di  Bacchus)  e  in  capo  di  quella  trovammo  un  gorgo  d'acqua  hello  e 
ameno  ('"  the  beautiful  basin  of  Quebec,"  as  it  is  called  in  the  "  Picture 
of  Quebec'") — nel  quel  luogo  e  un  picciol  flume  e  porto,  dove  per  il 
flusso  e  alta  Pacqua  intorno  a  tre  braccia,  ne  parve  questo  luogo  como- 
do  per  metter  le  nostre  navi,  per  il  che  quivi  le  mettemmo  in  sicuro, 
e  lo  chiamaramo  Santa  Croce,  percio  che  nel  detto  giorno  v'  eramo 
giunti.  .  .  Alia  riva  e  lito  di  quell'  isola  (di  Bacchus  verso  ponente 
v'e  un  goejo  d'acque  molto  bello  e  dilettevole,  e  convenientemente  da 
niettere  navilij,  dove  e  uno  stretto  del  detto  flume  molto  corrente  e  pro- 
fondo  ma  non  e  lungo  piii  d'un  terzo  di  lega  intorno,  per  traverse  del 
quale  vi  e  una  terra  tutta  di  colline  di  buona  altezza  .  .  .  quive  e  la 
stanza  e  la  terra  di  Donnacona,  e  chiamasi  il  luogo  Stadacona  .... 
sotto  la  qual  alta  terra  verso  tramontana  e  il  flume  e  porto  di  Santa 
Croce,  nel  qual  luogo  e  porto  siamo  stati  dalli  15  di  Settembre  flno  alii 
16  di  Maggio  1536,  nel  qual  luogo  le  navi  rimasero  in  secco."  The 
"one  place"  in  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  "deep  and  swift  running," 
means,  of  course,  that  part  directly  opposite  the  Lower  Town,  and  no 
doubt  it  appeared,  by  comparison,  "very  narrow"  to  those  who  had 
hitherto  seen  the  noble  river  only  in  its  grandest  forms.  The  town  of 
Stadacona  stood  on  that  part  of  Quebec  which  is  now  covered  by  the 
suburbs  of  St.  Roch,  with  part  of  those  of  St.  John,  looking  toward  the 
St.  Charles.  The  area,  or  ground  adjoining,  is  thus  described  by  Car- 
tier,  as  it  appeared  three  centuries  ago  :  "  terra  Tanta  buona,  quanto 
sia  possibile  di  vedere,  e  e  molto  fertile,  plena  di  bellissimi  arbori  della 
sorte  di  quelli  di  Francia,  come  sarebbeno  quercie,  olmi,  frassine,  na- 
jare,  nassi,  cedri,  vigne,  specie  bianchi,  i  quali  producono  il  frutto  cosi 
grosso  come  susine  damaschini,  e  di  raolte  altre  specie  d'arbori,  sotto 
de  quali  vi  nasce  e  cresce  cosi  bcl  canapo  come  quel  di  Francia,  e 
nondimcno  vi  nasce  senza  semenza,  e  senza  opera  umana  o  lavoro  al- 
cuno. — Jacques  Cartier,  in  Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  p.  443,  449,  450. 

The  exact  spot  in  the  River  St.  Charles  where  the  French  passed 
the  winter  is  supposed,  on  good  authority,  to  have  been  the  site  of  the 
old  bridge,  called  Dorchester  Bridge,  where  there  is  a  ford  at  low  wa- 
ter, close  to  the  Marine  Hospital.  That  it  was  on  the  east  bank,  not 
far  from  the  residence  of  Charles  Smith,  Esq.,  is  evident  from  the  i-iver 
having  been  frequently  crossed  by  the  natives  coming  from  Stadacona 
to  visit  the  French. — Picture  of  Quebec,  p.  43-46  ;   1834. 

'  It  received  this  name,  according  to  La  Potherie,  iu  compliment  to  Charles  des 
Boiles,  grand  vicar  of  Pontoise,  foimder  of  the  first  mission  of  Recollets  in  New 
France.  The  Paver  St  Charles  was  called  Coubal  Coubat  by  the  natives,  from  its 
windings  and  meanderings. — Smith's  Canada,  vol.  i.,  p.  lOt. 


62  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

on  which  he  first  entered  its  waters  ;  Donnacona,  accompa- 
nied by  a  train  of  five  hundred  Indians,  came  to  welcome  his 
arrival  with  generous  friendship.  In  the  angle  formed  by 
the  tributary  stream  and  the  Great  River,  stood  the  town  of 
Stadacona,  the  dwelling-place  of  the  chief ;  thence  an  irregu- 
lar slope  ascended  to  a  lofty  height  of  table-land  :  from  this 
eminence  a  bold  headland  frowiied  over  the  St.  Lawrence, 
forming  a  rocky  wall  three  hundred  feet  in  height.  The 
waters  of  the  Great  River — here  narrowed  to  less  than  a 
mile  in  breath — rolled  deeply  and  rapidly  past  into  the  broad 
basin  beyond.  When  the  white  men  first  stood  on  the  sum- 
mit of  this  bold  headland,  above  their  port  of  shelter,  most 
of  the  country  was  fresh  from  the  hand  of  the  Creator  ;  save 
the  three  small  barks  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  stream,  and 
the  Indian  village,  no  sign  of  human  habitation  met  their 
view.  Far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  dark  forest  spread  ; 
over  hill  and  valley,  mountain  and  plain  ;  up  to  the  craggy 
peaks,  down  to  the  blue  water's  edge  ;  along  the  gentle 
slopes  of  the  rich  Isle  of  Bacchus,  and  even  from  projecting 
rocks,  and  in  fissures  of  the  lofty  precipice,  the  deep  green 
mantle  of  the  summer  foliage  hung  its  graceful  folds.  In 
the  dim  distance,  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  where  mount- 
ain rose  above  mountain  in  tumultuous  variety  of  outline,  it 
was  still  the  same  ;  one  vast  leafy  vail  concealed  the  virgin 
face  of  Nature  from  the  stranger's  sight.  On  the  eminence 
commanding  this  scene  of  wild  but  magnificent  beauty,  a 
prosperous  city  now  stands  ;  the  patient  industry  of  man  has 
felled  that  dense  forest,  tree  by  tree,  for  miles  and  miles 
around,  and  where  it  stood,  rich  fields  rejoice  the  eye ;  the 
once  silent  waters  of  the  Great  River  below  now  surge  against 
Imndreds  of  stately  ships  ;  commerce  has  enriched  this  spot, 
art  adorned  it ;  a  memory  of  glory  endears  it  to  every  Brit- 
ish heart.      But  the  name  Quebec*  still  remains  unchang- 

*  "  Quebec  en  langue  Algonquinc  signifie  rctrecissement.  Les  Abc- 
naquis  dont  la  langue  est  une  dialecte  Algonquinc,  le  nomment  Que- 
libcc,  qui  veut  dire  cc  qui  est  fcrmc,  paroequo  de  I'entrde  dc  la  pe- 
tite riviere  de  la  Chaudiere  par  ou  ces  .sauvages  venaient  a  Quebec, 
le  port  de  Quebec  ne  paroit  qu'une  grande  barge." — Charlevoix,  vol. 
i.,  p.  50. 

"  Trouvant  uii  lieu  lo  jilus  etroit  de  la  riviere  que  les  habitans  du 


THE  CONQUEST  OK  CANADA.  03 

c(l ;  as  the  savage  first  pronounced  it  to  the  white  stranger, 
it  stands  to-day  among  the  proudest  records  of  our  country's 
story. 

The  chief  Donnacona  and  the  French  continued  in  friend- 
ly intercourse,  day  by  day  exchanging  good  offices  and  tokens 
of  regard.  But  Jacques  Cartier  was  eager  for  further  dis- 
coveries ;  the  two  Indian  interpreters  told  him  that  a  city  of 
much  larger  size  than  Stadacona  lay  further  up  the  river, 
the  capital  of  a  great  country  ;  it  was  called  in  the  native 
tongue  Hochelaga  ;  thither  he  resolved  to  find  his  way. 
The  Indians  endeavored  vainly  to  dissuade  their  dangerous 
guests  from  this  expedition  ;  they  represented  the  distance, 
the  lateness  of  the  season,  the  danger  of  the  great  lakes  and 
rapid  currents  ;  at  length  they  had  recourse  to  a  kind  of  mas- 
querade or  pantomime,  to  represent  the  perils  of  the  voyage, 
and  the  ferocity  of  the  tribes  inhabiting  that  distant  land. 
The  interpreters  earnestly  strove  to  dissuade  Jacques  Cartier 
from  proceeding  on  his  enterprise,  and  one  of  them  refused  to 
accompany  him.      The  brave  Frenchman  would  not  heark- 

pays  nomment  Quebec;"  "la  pointe  de  Quebec,  ainsi  appellee  des 
sauvages." — Champlain,  vol.  i.,  p.  115.  124. 

Others  give  a  Norman  derivation  for  the  word  :  it  is  said  that  Que- 
bec was  so  called  after  Caudebec,  on  the  Seine. 

La  Potherie's  words  are  :  "  On  tient  que  les  Normands  qui  etoient 
avec  J.  Cartier  a  sa  premiere  deeouvei-te,  apercevant  en  bout  de  I'isle 
d'Orleans,  un  cap  fort  eleve,  s'ecrierent  '  Quel  bee  !'  et  qu'  a  la  suite 
du  terns  la  nom  de  Quebec  lui  est  restc.  Je  ne  suis  point  garant  do 
cette  etymologic."  Mr.  Hawkins  terms  this  "  a  derivation  entirely 
illusory  and  improbable,"  and  asserts  that  the  woi'd  is  of  Norman 
origin.  He  gives  an  engraving  of  a  seal  belonging  to  William  de  la 
Pole,  earl  of  Suffolk,  dated  in  the  7th  of  Henry  V.,  or  A.D.  1420. 
The  legend  or  motto  is,  "  Sigillum  Willielmi  de  la  Pole,  Comitis  Suf- 
folckiaj,  Domine  de  Hamburg  ot  de  Quebec."  Suffolk  was  impeach- 
ed by  the  Commons  of  England  in  1450,  and  one  of  the  charges 
brought  against  him  was,  his  unbounded  influence  in  Normandy,  where 
he  lived  and  ruled  like  an  independent  prince ;  it  is  not,  therefore,  im- 
probable that  he  enjoyed  the  French  title  of  Quebec  in  addition  to  his 
English  honors. 

The  Indian  name  Stadacona  had  perished  before  the  time  of  Cham- 
plain,  owing,  probably,  to  the  migration  of  tho  principal  tribe  and  the 
succession  of  others.  The  inhabitants  of  Hochelaga,  we  are  told  by 
Jacques  Cartier,  were  the  only  people  in  the  surrounding  neighborhood 
who  were  not  migratory. 


64  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

en  to  such  disauasious,  and  treated  with  equal  contempt  the 
verbal  and  pantomimic  AA'arnings  of  the  alleged  difficulties. 
As  a  precautionary  measure  to  impress  the  savages  with  an 
exalted  idea  of  his  power  as  a  friend  or  foe,  he  caused  twelve 
cannon  loaded  with  bullets  to  be  fired  in  their  presence 
against  a  wood  ;  amazed  and  terrified  at  the  noise,  and  the 
effects  of  this  discharge,  they  fled,  howling  and  shrieking, 
away. 

Jacques  Cartier  sailed  for  Hochelaga  on  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember ;  he  tooli  with  him  the  Hermerillon,  one  of  his  small- 
est ships,  the  pinnace,  and  two  long-boats,  bearing  thirty-five 
armed  men,  with  their  provisions  and  ammunition.  The 
two  larger  vessels  and  their  crews  were  left  in  the  harbor  of 
St.  Croix,  protected  by  poles  and  stakes  driven  into  the  wa- 
ter so  as  to  form  a  barricade.  The  voyage  presented  few  of 
the  threatened  difficulties  ;  the  country  on  both  sides  of  the 
Great  River  was  rich  and  varied,  covered  with  stately  tim- 
ber, and  abounding  in  vines.  The  natives  were  every  where 
friendly  and  hospitable  ;  all  that  they  possessed  was  freely  of- 
fered to  the  strangers.  At  a  place  called  Hochelai,  the  chief 
of  the  district  visited  the  French,  and  showed  much  friend- 
.ship  and  confidence,  presenting  Jacques  Cartier  with  a  girl 
seven  years  of  age,  one  of  his  own  children. 

On  the  29th,  the  expedition  was  stopped  in  Lake  St. 
Pierre  by  the  shallows,  not  having  hit  upon  the  right  chan- 
nel. Jacques  Cartier  took  the  resolution  of  leaving  his  larger 
vessels  behind  and  proceeding  with  his  two  boats  ;  he  met 
with  no  further  interruption,  and  at  length  reached  Hoche- 
laga on  the  2d  of  October,  accompanied  by  De  Pontbriand, 
De  la  Pommeraye,  and  De  Gozelle,  three  of  his  volunteers. 
The  natives  welcomed  him  with  every  demonstration  of  joy 
and  hospitality  ;  above  a  thousand  people,  of  all  ages  and 
sexes,  oame  forth  to  meet  the  strangers,  greeting  them  with 
afiectionate  kindness.  Jacques  Cartier,  in  return  for  their 
generous  reception,  bestowed  presents  of  tin,  beads,  and  other 
bawbles  upon  all  the  women,  and  gave  some  knives  to  the 
men.  He  returned  to  pass  the  night  in  the  boats,  while  the 
savages  made  great  fires  on  the  shore,  and  danced  merrily 
all  night  long.      The  place  where  the  French  first  landed 


THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA.  65 

was  probably  about  eleven  miles  from  the  city  of"  Hochelaga, 
below  the  rapid  of  St.  Mary. 

On  the  day  after  his  arrival  Jacques  Cartier  proceeded  to 
the  town  ;  his  volunteers  and  some  others  of  his  followers 
accompanied  him,  arrayed  in  full  dress  ;  three  of  the  natives 
undertook  to  guide  them  on  their  way.  The  road  was  well 
beaten,  and  bore  evidence  of  having  been  much  frequented  : 
the  country  through  which  it  passed  was  exceedingly  rich 
and  fertile.  Hochelaga  stood  in  the  midst  of  great  fields  of 
Indian  corn  ;  it  was  of  a  circular  form,  containing  about  fifty 
large  huts,  each  fifty  paces  long  and  from  fourteen  to  fifteen 
wide,  all  built  in  the  shape  of  tunnels,  formed  of  wood,  and 
covered  with  birch  bark  ;  the  dwellings  were  divided  into 
several  rooms,  surrounding  an  open  court  in  the  center,  where 
the  fires  burned.  Three  rows  of  palisades  encircled  the  town, 
M'ith  only  one  entrance  ;  above  the  gate,  and  over  the  whole 
length  of  the  outer  ring  of  defense,  there  was  a  gallery,  ap- 
proached by  flights  of  steps,  and  plentifully  provided  with 
stones  and  other  missiles  to  resist  attack.  This  was  a  place 
of  considerable  importance,  even  in  those  remote  days,  as  the 
capital  of  a  great  extent  of  country,  and  as  having  eight  or 
ten  villages  subject  to  its  sway. 

The  inhabitants  spoke  the  language  of  the  great  Huron 
nation,  and  were  more  advanced  in  civilization  than  any  of 
their  neighbors :  unlike  other  tribes,  they  cultivated  the 
ground  and  remamed  stationary.  The  French  were  well 
received  by  the  people  of  Hochelaga  ;  they  made  presents, 
the  Indians  gave  fetes  ;  their  fire-arms,  trumpets,  and  other 
warlike  equipments  filled  the  minds  of  their  simple  hosts  with 
wonder  and  admiration,  and  their  beards  and  clothing  excited 
a  curiosity  which  the  difficulties  of  an  unknovvTi  language 
prevented  from  being  satisfied.  So  great  was  the  venera- 
tion for  the  white  men,  that  the  chief  of  the  town,  and  many 
of  the  maimed,  sick,  and  infirm,  came  to  Jacques  Cartier, 
entreating  him,  by  expressive  signs,  to  cui'e  their  ills.  The 
pious  Frenchman  disclaimed  any  supernatural  power,  but  he 
read  aloud  part  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  over  the  sufferers,  and  presented  them  with  chap- 
lets  and  other  holy  symbols  ;   he  then  prayed  earnestly  that 


66  THE    CON'aUEST    OF   CANADA. 

the  poor  savages  might  be  freed  from  the  night  of  ignorance 
and  infidehty.  The  Indians  regarded  these  acts  and  words 
with  deep  gratitude  and  respectful  admiration. 

Three  miles  from  Hochelaga,  there  was  a  lofty  hill,  well 
tilled  and  very  fertile  ;*  thither  Jacques  Cartier  bent  his 
way,  after  having  examined  the  town.  From  the  summit 
he  saw  the  river  and  the  country  for  thirty  leagues  around, 
a  scene  of  singular  beauty.  To  this  hill  he  gave  the  name 
of  Mont  Royal  ;  since  extended  to  the  large  and  fertile  isl- 
and on  which  it  stands,  and  to  the  city  below.  Time  has 
now  swept  away  every  trace  of  Hochelaga ;  on  its  site  the 
modern  capital  of  Canada  has  arisen  ;  fifty  thousand  people 
of  European  race,  and  stately  buildings  of  carved  stone,  re- 
place the  simple  Indians  and  the  huts  of  the  ancient  town. 

Jacques  Cartier,  having  made  his  observations,  returned 
to  the  boats,  attended  by  a  great  concourse ;  when  any  of  his 
men  appeared  fatigued  with  their  journey,  the  kind  Indians 
carried  them  on  their  shoulders.  This  short  stay  of  the 
French  seemed  to  sadden  and  displease  these  hospitable  peo- 
ple, and  on  the  departure  of  the  boats  they  followed  their 
course  for  some  distance  along  the  banks  of  the  river.  On 
the  4th  of  October  Jacques  Cartier  reached  the  shallows, 
where  the  pinnace  had  been  left ;  he  resumed  his  course  the 
following  day,  and  arrived  at  St.  Croix  on  the  11th  of  the 
same  month. 

*  "  In  mezzo  di  quelle  campajrne,  e  posta  la  terra  d'Hochelaga  ap- 
presso  e  congiunta  con  una  montagna  coltivata  tutta  attorno  e  molto 
fertile,  sopra  la  qual  si  vede  molto  lontano.      Noi  la  chiamammo  il 

Monto  Regal Parecchi  uomini  e  donne  ci  vcnnero  a  condur 

e  menar  .sopra  la  montagna,  qui  dinanzi  detta,  la  qual  chiamammo 
Monte  Regal,  distantc  da  dotto  luogo  poco  manco  d'un  miglio,  sopra 
la  quale  es.sendo  noi,  vedemmo  e  avemmo  notitia  di  piu  di  trenta  leghe 
attorno  di  quclla,  c  verso  la  parte  di  tramontana  si  vede  una  continu- 
azione  di  montugne,  li  quali  corrono  avantc  e  ponente,  e  altra  tante 
ver.so  il  mezzo  giorno,  fra  le  quali  montagna  e  la  terra,  piu  bella  che 
sia  possibile  a  vcder." — J.  Cartier,  in  Ramnsio,  tom.  iii.,  p.  447,  448. 

"  Cartier  donna  le  nom  de  Mont  Royal  a  la  montagne  au  pied  de 
laquelle  ^-toit  la  bourgade  de  Hochelaga.  11  decouvrit  de  la  une 
graude  ctendue  de  pays  doiit  ia  vue  le  charma,  et  avec  raison,  car  il 
en  est  peu  au  monde  de  plus  beau  ct  de  meilleur." — Charlevoix,  tom. 
i ,  p.  20. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  67 

The  men  who  had  remained  at  St.  Croix  had  busied  them- 
selves during  their  leader's  absence  in  strengthening-  their 
position,  so  as  to  secure  it  against  surprise,  a  wise  precaution 
under  any  circumstances  among  a  savage  people,  but  espe- 
cially in  the  neighborhood  of  a  populous  town,  the  residence 
of  a  chief  whose  friendship  they  could  not  but  distrust,  in 
spite  of  his  apparent  hospitality. 

The  day  after  Jacques  Cartier's  arrival,  Donnacona  came 
to  bid  him  welcome,  and  entreated  him  to  visit  Stadacona. 
He  accepted  the  invitation,  and  proceeded  with  his  volun- 
teers and  fifty  sailors  to  the  village,  about  three  miles  from 
where  the  ships  lay.  As  they  journeyed  on,  they  observed 
that  the  houses  were  well  provided  and  stored  for  the  coming 
winter,  and  the  country  tilled  in  a  manner  showing  that  the 
inhabitants  were  not  ignorant  of  agriculture  ;  thus  they  form- 
ed, on  the  whole,  a  favorable  impression  of  the  docility  and 
intelligence  of  the  Indians  during  this  expedition. 

When  the  awful  and  imexpected  severity  of  the  winter  set 
in,  the  French  were  unprovided  with  necessary  clothing  and 
proper  provisions  ;  the  scurvy  attacked  them,  and  by  the 
month  of  March  twenty-five  were  dead,  and  nearly  all  were 
infected  ;  the  remainder  wolild  probably  have  also  perished  ; 
but  when  Jacques  Cartier  was  himself  attacked  with  the 
dreadful  disease,  the  Indians  revealed  to  him  the  secret  of  its, 
cure  :  this  was  the  decoction  of  the  leaf  and  bai-k  of  a  cer- 
tain tree,  which  proved  so  excellent  a  remedy  that  in  a  few 
days  all  were  restored  to  health.* 

Jacques  Cartier,  on  the  2 1  st  of  April,  was  first  led  to  sus- 
pect the  friendship  of  the  natives  from  seeing  a  number  of 
strong  and  active  young  men  make  their  appearance  in  the 
neighboring  town  ;  these  were  probably  the  warriors  of  the 
tribe,  who  had  just  then  returned  from  the  hunting  grounds, 
where  they  had  passed  the  winter,  but  there  is  now  no  rea- 
son to  suppose  that  their  presence  indicated  any  hostility. 
However,  Jacques  Cartier,  fearing  treachery,  determined  to 

*  "  This  tree  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  spruce  fir,  Pinus  Cana- 
densis. It  is  called  '  Ameda'  by  the  natives.  Spruce-beer  is  known 
to  be  a  powerful  anti-scorbutic." — Champlain,  part  i..  p.  124. 

Charlevoix  calls  the  tree  Epinette  Blanche. 


68  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

anticipate  it.  He  had  already  arranged  to  depart  for  France. 
On  the  3d  of  May  he  seized  the  chief,  the  interpreters,  and 
two  other  Indians,  to  present  them  to  Francis  I.  :  as  some 
amends  for  this  cruel  and  flagrant  violation  of  hospitality,  he 
treated  his  prisoners  with  great  kindness  ;  they  soon  became 
satisfied  with  their  fate.  On  the  6th  of  May  he  made  sail 
for  Europe,  and,  after  having  encountered  some  difficulties 
and  delays,  arrived  safely  at  St.  Malo  the  8th  of  July,  1536. 
The  result  of  Jacques  Cartier's  expedition  was  not  encour- 
aging to  the  spirit  of  enterprise  in  France  ;  no  mines  had 
been  discovered,*  no  rare  and  valuable  productions  found. t 

*  Any  information  given  by  the  natives  as  to  the  existence  of  mines 
was  vague  and  unsatisfactor)'.  "  Poscia  ci  mostrarono  con  segni,  che 
passate  dette  tre  cadute  si  poteva  navigar  per  detto  fiume  il  spazio  di 
tre  lune :  noi  pensammo  che  qiiello  sia  il  fiume  che  passa  per  il  passe 
di  Saguenay,  e  senza  che  li  facessinio  dimanda  presero  la  catena  del 
.subiotto  del  capitano  che  era  d'argento,  e  il  manico  del  pugnale  di 
uno  de  nostre  compagni  marinari,  qual  era  d'ottone  giallo  quanto  I'oro, 
e  ci  mostrarono  che  quello  veniva  di  sopra  di  detto  fiume.  .  .  II  capi- 
tan  raostro  loro  del  rame  rosso,  qual  chiamano  Caignetadze  dimostran- 
doli  con  segni  voltandosi  verso  detto  paese  li  dimandava  se  veniva  da 
quelle  parti,  e  eglino  cominciarono  a  crollar  il  capo,  volendo  dir  no, 
ma  ben  ne  significarono  che  veniva  da  Saguenay. 

"  Piu  ci  hanno  detto  e  fatto  intendere,  che  in  quel  paese  di  Saguenay 
sono  genti  vestite  di  drappi  come  noi,  .  .  .  e  che  hanno  gran  quantita, 
d'oro  e  rame  rosso  .  .  .  e  che  gli  uomini  e  donne  di  quella  terra  sono 
vestite  di  pelli  come  loro,  noi  li  dimandammo  se  ci  e  oro  e  rame  rosso, 
ci  risposero  di  si.  lo  penso  che  questo  luogo  sia  verso  la  Florida  per 
quanto  ho  potuto  intendere  dalli  loro  segni  e  indicij." — J.  Cartier,  in 
Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  p.  448-450. 

t  The  only  valuable  the  natives  seemed  to  have  in  their  possession 
was  a  substance  called  csurgny,  white  as  snow,  of  which  they  made 
beads  and  wore  them  about  their  necks.  This  they  looked  upon  as 
the  most  precious  gift  they  could  bestow  on  the  white  men.  The 
mode  in  which  it  was  prepared  is  said  by  Cartier  to  be  the  following : 
When  any  one  was  adjudged  to  death  for  a  crime,  or  when  their  ene- 
mies are  taken  in  war,  having  tir.st  slain  the  person,  they  make  long 
gaslics  over  the  whole  of  the  body,  and  sink  it  to  the  bottom  of  the 
river  in  a  certain  place,  where  the  csurgny  abounds.  After  remaining 
ten  or  twelve  hours,  the  body  is  drawn  up  and  the  csurgny  or  corni- 
botz  is  found  in  the  gashes.  These  necklaces  of  beads  the  French 
found  had  the  power  to  stop  bleeding  at  the  nose.  It  is  supposed  that 
in  the  above  account  the  French  misunderstood  the  natives  or  were 
imposed  upon  by  them  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  "  valuable  sub- 
stance" described  by  Cartier  was  the  Indian  wampum. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA,  69 

The  miserable  state  to  w^hicli  the  adventurers  had  been  re- 
duced by  the  rigorous  climate  and  loathsome  diseases,  the 
privations  they  had  endured,  the  poverty  of  their  condition, 
were  sufficient  to  cool  the  ardor  of  those  vs^ho  might  other- 
wise have  wished  to  follow  up  their  discoveries.  But,  hap- 
pily for  the  cause  of  civilization,  some  of  those  powerful  in. 
France  judged  more  favorably  of  Jacques  Cartier's  reports,  and 
were  not  to  be  disheartened  by  the  unsuccessful  issue  of  one 
undertaking ;  the  dominion  over  such  a  vast  extent  of  coun- 
try, with  fertile  soil  and  healthy  climate,  inhabited  by  a  do- 
cile and  hospitable  people,  was  too  great  an  object  to  be 
lightly  abandoned.  The  presence  of  Donnacona,  the  Indian 
chief,  tended  to  keep  alive  an  interest  in  the  land  whence  he 
had  come  ;  as  soon  as  he  could  render  himself  intelligible  in 
the  French  language,  he  confirmed  all  that  had  been  said 
of  the  salubrity,  beauty,  and  richness  of  his  native  country. 
The  pious  Jacques  Cartier  most  of  all  strove  to  impress  upon 
the  king  the  glory  and  merit  of  extending  the  blessed  knowl- 
edge of  a  Savior  to  the  dark  and  hopeless  heathens  of  the 
West ;  a  deed  well  worthy  of  the  prince  who  bore  the  title 
of  Most  Christian  King  and  Eldest  Son  of  the  Church. 

Jean  Francois  de  la  Roque,  lord  of  Roberval,  a  gentleman 
of  Picardy,  was  the  most  earnest  and  energetic  of  those  who 
desired  to  colonize  the  lands  discovered  by  Jacques  Cartier  ; 
he  bore  a  high  reputation  in  his  own  province,  and  was  fa- 
vored by  the  friendship  of  the  king.  With  these  advantages 
he  found  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  commission  to  com- 
mand an  expedition  to  North  America  ;  the  title  and  au- 
thority of  lieutenant  general  and  viceroy  was  conferred  upon 
him  ;  his  rule  to  extend  over  Canada,  Hochelaga,  Saguenay, 
Newfoundland,  Belle  Isle,  Carpon,  Labrador,  La  Grand 
Baye,  and  Baccalaos,  with  the  delegated  rights  and  powers 
of  the  crown.  This  patent  was  dated  the  15th  of  January, 
1540.  Jacques  Cartier  was  named  second  in  command. 
The  orders  to  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  enjoined  them  to 
discover  more  than  had  been  hitherto  accomplished,  and,  if 
possible,  to  reach  the  country  of  Saguenay,  where,  from  some 
reports  of  the  Indians,  they  still  hoped  to  find  mines  of  gold 
and  silver.      The  port  of  St.  Malo  was  again  chosen  for  the 


70  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

fitting?  out  of  the  expedition  :  the  king  furnished  a  sum  of 
money  to  defray  the  expenses.* 

Jacques  Cartier  exerted  himself  vigorously  in  preparing 
the  little  fleet  for  the  voyage,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  his 
chief  with  the  necessary  arms,  stores,  and  ammunition  ;  Ro- 
berval  was  meanwhile  engaged  at  Honfleur  in  fitting  out 
two  other  vessels  at  his  own  cost,  and  being  urged  to  hasten 
by  the  king,  he  gave  his  lieutenant  orders  to  start  at  once, 
with  full  authority  to  act  as  if  he  himself  were  present.  He 
also  promised  to  follow  from  Honfleur  with  all  the  required 
supplies.  Jacques  Cartier  sailed  on  the  23d  of  May,  1541, 
having  provisioned  his  fleet  for  two  years.  Storms  and  ad- 
verse winds  dispersed  the  ships  for  some  time,  but  in  about 
a  month  they  all  met  again  on  the  coast  of  Newfoundland, 
where  they  hoped  Roberval  would  join  them.  They  await- 
ed his  coming  for  some  weeks,  but  at  length  proceeded  with- 
out him  to  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  on  the  23d  of  August  they 
reached  their  old  station  near  the  magnificent  headland  of 
Quebec. 

Donnacona's  successor  as  chief  of  the  Indians  at  Stadaco- 
na  came  in  state  to  welcome  the  French  on  their  return, 
and  to  inquire  after  his  absent  countrymen.  They  told  him 
of  the  chief's  death,  but  concealed  the  fate  of  the  other  In- 
dians, stating  that  they  were  enjoying  great  honor  and  hap- 
piness in  France,  and  would  not  return  to  their  own  country. 
The  savages  displayed  no  symptoms  of  anger,  surprise,  or 
distrust  at  this  news  ;  their  countenances  exhibited  the  same 
impassive  calm,  their  manners  the  same  quiet  dignity  as 
ever  ;  but  from  that  hour  their  hearts  were  changed ;  hatred 
and  hostility  took  the  place  of  admiration  and  respect,  and  a 
sad  foreboding  of  their  approaching  destruction  darkened  their 
simple  minds.  Henceforth  the  French  were  hindered  and  mo- 
lested by  the  inhabitants  of  Stadacona  to  such  an  extent  that 
it  was  deemed  advisable  to  seek  another  settlement  for  the 
winter.  Jacques  Cartier  cho.se  his  new  position  at  the  mouth 
of  a  small  river  three  leagues  higher  on  the  St.  Lawrence  ;t 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XIV. 

t  The  precise  spot  on  which  the  upper  fort  of  Jacques  Cartier  was 
built;  iiilersvard  enlurgod  by  Koberval,  has  been  fixed  by  an  ingenious 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  71 

here  he  laid  up  some  of  his  vessels  under  the  protection  of 
two  forts,  one  on  a  level  with  the  water,  the  other  on  the 
summit  of  an  overhanging  cliff;  these  strong-holds  communi- 
cated with  each  other  by  steps  cut  in  the  solid  rock  ;  he  gave 
the  name  of  Charlesbourg  Royal  to  this  new  station.  The 
two  remaining  vessels  of  the  fleet  he  sent  back  to  France 
with  letters  to  the  king,  stating  that  Roberval  had  not  yet 
arrived. 

Under  the  impression  that  the  country  of  the  Saguenay, 
the  land  of  fabled  wealth,  could  be  reached  by  pursuing  the 
line  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Jacques  Cartier  set  forth  to  explore 
the  rapids  above  Hochelaga  on  the  7th  of  September,  1541. 
The  season  being  so  far  advanced,  he  only  undertook  this  ex- 
pedition with  a  view  to  being  better  acquainted  with  the 
route,  and  to  being  provided  with  all  necessary  preparations 
for  a  more  extensive  exploration  in  the  spring.  In  passing 
up  the  Great  River  he  renewed  acquaintance  with  the  friend- 
ly and  hospitable  chief  of  Hochelai,  and  there  left  two  boys 
under  charge  of  the  Indians  to  learn  the  language.  On  the 
1 1th  he  reached  the  sault  or  rapids  above  Hochelaga,  where 
the  progress  of  the  boats  was  arrested  by  the  force  of  the 
stream ;  he  then  landed  and  made  his  way  to  the  second  rapid. 
The  natives  gave  him  to  understand  that  above  the  next 
sault  there  lay  a  great  lake  ;  Cartier,  having  obtained  this 
information,  returned  to  where  he  had  left  the  boats  ;  about 
four  hundred  Indians  had  assembled  and  met  him  with  dem- 
onstrations of  friendship  ;  he  received  their  good  offices  and 
made  them  presents  in  return,  but  still  regarded  them  with 
distrust  on  account  of  their  unusual  numbers.  Having  gain- 
gentleman  at  Quebec  at  the  top  of  Cape  Rouge  Height,  a  .short  dis- 
tance from  the  handsome  villa  of  Mr.  Atkinson.  A  few  months  ago, 
Mr.  Atkinson's  workmen,  in  leveling  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  house, 
and  close  to  the  point  of  Cape  Rouge  Height,  found  beneath  the  sur- 
face some  loo.se  stones  which  had  apparently  been  the  foundation  of 
some  building  or  fortification.  Among  these  stones  were  found  sev- 
eral iron  balls  of  different  sizes,  adapted  to  the  caliber  of  the  ship  guns 
used  at  the  period  of  Jacques  Cartier's  and  Roberval's  visit.  Upon 
the  whole,  the  evidence  of  the  presence  of  the  French  at  Cape  Rouge 
may  be  considered  as  conclusive.  Nor  is  there  any  good  reason  to 
doubt  that  Roberval  took  up  his  quarters  in  the  part  which  Jacques 
Cartier  had  left. — Picture  of  Quebec,  p.  62-469. 


72  THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ed  as  much  informatiori  as  he  could,  he  set  out  on  his  return 
to  Charlesbourg  Royal,  his  winter-quarters.  The  chief  was 
absent  when  Jacques  Cartier  stopped  at  Hochelai  on  descend- 
ing the  river  ;  he  had  gone  to  Stadacona  to  hold  counsel 
with  the  natives  of  that  district  for  the  destruction  of  the 
white  men.  On  arriving  at  Charlesbourg  Pvoyal,  Jacques 
Cartier  found  confirmation  of  his  suspicions  against  the  In- 
dians ;  they  now  avoided  the  French,  and  never  approached  the 
ships  with  their  usual  ofTerings  of  fish  and  other  provisions  ; 
a  great  number  of  men  had  also  assembled  at  Stadacona. 
He  accordingly  made  every  possible  preparation  for  defense  in 
the  forts,  and  took  due  precautions  against  a  surprise.  There 
are  no  records  extant  of  the  events  of  this  winter  in  Canada, 
but  it  is  probable  that  no  serious  encounter  took  place  with 
the  natives ;  the  French,  however,  must  have  suffered  se- 
verely from  the  confinement  rendered  necessary  by  their  per- 
ilous position,  as  well  as  from  want  of  the  provisions  and 
supplies  which  the  bitter  climate  made  requisite. 

Roberval,  though  high-minded  and  enterprising,  failed  in 
his  engagements  with  Jacques  Cartier  :  he  did  not  follow  his 
adA'enturous  lieutenant  with  the  necessary  and  promised  sup- 
plies till  the  spring  of  the  succeeding  j'ear.  On  the  IGth 
of  April,  1542,  he  at  length  sailed  from  Rochelle  with  three 
large  vessels,  equipped  principally  at  the  royal  cost.  Two 
hundred  persons  accompanied  him,  some  of  them  being  gen- 
tlemen of  condition,  others  men  and  women  purposing  to  be- 
come settlers  in  the  New  World.  Jean  Alphonsc,  an  expe- 
rienced navigator  of  Saintonge,  by  birth  a  Portuguese,  was 
pilot  of  the  expedition.  After  a  very  tedious  voyage,  they 
entered  the  Road  of  St.  John's,  Newlbundland,  on  the  8  th  of 
June,  where  they  Ibund  no  fewer  than  seventeen  vessels  en- 
gaged in  the  inexhaustible  fisheries  of  those  waters. 

While  Roberval  indulged  in  a  brief  repose  at  this  place, 
the  unwelcome  appearance  of  Jacques  Cartier  filled  him  with 
disappointment  and  surprise.  Tlie  lieutenant  gave  the  hos- 
tility of  the  savages  and  the  M'cakness  of  his  force  as  reasons 
for  having  abandoned  the  settlement  where  he  had  passed 
the  winter.  He  still,  however,  spoke  favorably  of  the  rich- 
ness and  fertility  of  the  country,  and  gladdened  the  eyes  of 


Tin:  cuNUL'i^sjT  or  caxada.  73 

the  adventurers  by  the  sight  ol"  a  substance  ihat  resembled 
gold  ore,  and  crystals  that  they  i'aiicied  were  diamonds,  found 
on  the  bold  headland  of  Quebec.  But,  despite  these  flatter- 
ing reports  and  promising  specimens,  Jacques  Cartier  and  his 
followers  could  not  be  induced,  by  entreaties  or  persuasions,  to 
return.  The  hardships  and  dangers  of  the  last  terrible  win- 
ter were  too  fresh  in  memory,  and  too  keenly  felt,  to  be  again 
braved.  They  deemed  their  portion  of  the  contract  already 
complete,  and  the  love  of  their  native  land  overcame  the 
spirit  of  adventure,  which  had  been  weakened,  if  not  quench- 
ed, by  recent  disappointment  and  sufi'ering.  To  avoid  the 
chance  of  an  open  rupture  with  Roberval,  the  lieutenant 
silently  weighed  anchor  during  the  night,  and  made  all  sail 
for  France.  This  inglorious  withdrawal  from  the  enterprise 
paralyzed  Roberval's  power,  and  deferred  the  permanent  set- 
tlement of  Canada  for  generations  then  unborn.  Jacques 
Cartier  died  soon  after  his  return  to  Europe.*  Having  sac- 
rificed his  fortune  in  the  pursuit  of  discovery,  his  heirs  were 
granted  an  exclusive  privilege  of  trade  to  Canada  for  twelve 
years,  in  consideration  of  his  sacrifices  for  the  public  good  ; 
but  this  gift  was  revoked  four  months  after  it  was  bestowed. 
Roberval  determined  to  proceed  on  his  expedition,  although 
deprived  of  the  powerful  assistance  and  valuable  experience 
of  his  lieutenant.  He  sailed  from  Newfoundland  for  Canada, 
and  reached  Cap  Rouge,  the  place  where  Jacques  Cartier 
had  wintered,  before  the  end  of  June,  1542.  He  imme- 
diately fortified  himself  there,  as  the  situation  best  adapted 
for  defense  against  hostility,  and  for  commanding  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Great  River.  Very  little  is  known  of  Roberval's 
proceedings  during  the  remainder  of  that  year  and  the  fol- 
lowing winter.  The  natives  do  not  appear  to  have  molested 
the  new  settlers  ;   but  no  progress  whatever  was  made  to- 

*  Jacques  Cartier  was  born  at  St.  Malo  about  1500.  The  day  of 
his  birth  can  not  be  discovered,  nor  the  time  and  place  of  his  death. 
Most  probably  he  finished  his  useful  life  at  St.  Malo ;  for  we  find,  un- 
der the  date  of  the  29th  of  November,  1549,  that  the  celebrated  naviga- 
tor with  his  wife,  Catharine  des  Granges,  founded  an  obit  in  the  Ca- 
thedral of  St.  Malo,  assigning  the  sum  of  four  francs  for  that  purpose. 
The  mortuary  registers  of  St.  Malo  make  no  mention  of  his  death,  nor 
is  theie  any  tradition  on  the  subject. 
VOL.    I. D 


74  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ward  a  permanent  establishment.  During  the  intense  cold, 
the  scurvy  caused  fearful  mischief  among  the  French  ;  no 
fewer  than  fifty  perished  from  that  dreadful  malady  during 
the  winter.  Demoralized  by  misery  and  idleness,  the  little 
colony  became  turbulent  and  lawless,  and  Roberval  was 
obliged  to  resort  to  extreme  severity  of  punishment  before 
quiet  and  discipline  were  re-established. 

Toward  the  close  of  April  the  ice  broke  up,  and  released 
the  French  from  their  weary  and  painful  captivity.  On  the 
5th  of  June,  1543,  Roberval  set  forth  from  Cap  Rouge  to 
explore  the  province  of  Saguenay,  leaving  thirty  men  and 
an  officer  to  protect  their  winter-quarters  :  this  exiDcdition 
produced  no  results,  and  was  attended  with  the  loss  of  one 
of  the  boats  and  eight  men.  In  the  mean  time  the  pilot, 
Jean  Alphonse,  was  dispatched  to  examine  the  coasts  north 
of  Newfoundland,  in  hopes  of  discovering  a  passage  to  the 
East  Indies  ;  he  reached  the  fifty-second  degree  of  latitude, 
and  then  abandoned  the  enterprise  ;  on  returning  to  Europe, 
he  published  a  narrative  of  Roberval's  expedition  and  his 
own  voyage,  with  a  tolerably  accurate  desCTiption  of  the  Riv- 
er St.  Lawrence,  and  its  navigation  upward  from  the  Gulf. 
Roberval  reached  France  in  1543  ;  the  war  between  Fran- 
cis I.  and  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  for  some  years  occupied 
his  ardent  spirit,  and  supplied  him  with  new  occasions  for 
distinction,  till  the  death  of  the  king,  his  patron  and  friend, 
in  1547.  In  the  year  1549  he  collected  some  adventuroub 
men,  and,  accompanied  by  his  brave  brother,  Achille,  sailed 
once  again  for  Canada  ;  but  none  of  this  gallant  band  were 
ever  heard  of  more.  Thus,  for  many  a  year,  were  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  stormy  Atlantic  all  the  bright  hopes  of 
founding  a  new  nation  in  America  :*  since  these  daring  men 
had  failed,  none  others  might  expect  to  be  successful. 

*  The  name  of  America  was  tirst  jTivert  to  the  New  World  in  1507. 
"  L'opinion  ancicnnemcnt  cmi.se  ct  encore  trcs  rcpandue  que  Vcspuce, 
dans  I'exercicc  dc  son  emploi  dc  Piloto  mayor,  ct  charge  de  corriger 
le.s  cartes  hydrographiqucs  de  1508  a  1512,  ait  profite  dc  sa  position 
pour  appeler  de  .son  nom  le  Nouveau  Monde,  n'a  aucun  fondement. 
La  denomination  d'Amerique  ,a  etc  proj)osce  loin  de  Seville,  en  Lor- 
raine, en  1507,  une  annce  avant  la  creation  de  I'officc  d'un  Piloto 
mayor  de  Indias.     Les  IVIappe  Mondes  qui  portent  le  nom  d'Amerique 


THE    CONUUEtiT    OF    CANADA.  75 

In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  attention  was  directed  toward 
Brazil ;  splendid  accounts  of  its  wealth  and  fertility  were 
brought  home  by  some  French  navigators  who  had  visited 
that  distant  land.  The  Admiral  Gaspard  de  Coligni  was 
the  first  to  press  upon  the  king  the  importance  of  obtaining 
a  footing  in  South  America,  and  dividing  the  magnificent 
prize  with  the  Portuguese  monarch.  This  celebrated  rnan 
was  convinced  that  an  extensive  system  of  colonization  was 
necessary  for  the  glory  and  tranquillity  of  France.  He  pur- 
posed that  the  settlement  in  the  New  World  should  be  found- 
ed exclusively  by  persons  holding  that  Reformed  faith  to  which 
he  was  so  deeply  attached,  and  thus  would  be  provided  a  ref- 
uge for  those  driven  from  France  by  religious  proscription 
and  persecution.  It  is  believed  that  Coligni's  magnificent 
scheme  comprehended  the  possession  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  Mississippi,  gradually  colonizing  the  banks  of  these 
great  rivers  into  the  depths  of  the  Continent,  till  the  whole 
of  North  America,  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  should  be  hemmed  in  by  this  gigantic  line 
of  French  outposts.  However,  the  first  proposition  was  to 
establish  a  colony  on  the  coast  of  Brazil ;  the  king  approved 
the  project,  and  Durand  de  Villegagnon,  vice-admiral  of  Brit- 
tany, was  selected  to  command  in  1555;  the  expedition, 
however,  entirely  failed,  owing  to  religious  difierences. 

Under  the  reigns  of  Francis  II.  and  Charles  IX.,  while 
France  was  convulsed  with  civil  war,  America  seemed  alto- 
gether forgotten.  But  Coligni  availed  himself  of  a  brief  in- 
terval of  calm  to  turn  attention  once  more  to  the  Western 


n'ont  paru  que  8  our  10  ans  apres  la  mort  de  Vcspuce,  et  dans  dcs 
pays  sur  lequels  ni  lui  ni  ses  parents  n'exerfaient  aucune  influence. 
II  est  probable  que  Vespuce  n'a  jamais  su  quelle  dangereuse  gloire  on 
lui  preparoit  a  Saint  Die,  dans  un  petit  endroit,  situo  au  pied  des  Vos- 
ges,  et  dont  vraisembablement  le  nom  meme  lui  ctoit  inconnu.  Jus- 
qu'  a  I'epoque  de  sa  mort,  le  mot  Araerique,  employe  comme  denom- 
ination d'un  continent  ne  s'est  trouvc  imprime  que  dans  deux  seuls 
ouvrages,  dans  la  Cosmographiaj  Introductio  de  Martin  Waldseemiil- 
ler,  et  dans  le  Globus  Mundi  (Argentor,  1509).  On  n'a  jusqu'ici  an- 
cun  rapport  direct  de  Waldseemiiller  imprimateur  de  Saint  Die,  avec 
le  navigateur  Florentin." — Humboldt's  Gcogr.  du  Nouvcau  Cotitincnl, 
vol.  v.,  p.  206 


76  TllK    CU\UUEdT    OF    CA.NAUA. 

World.  He  this  lime  bethought  himself"  of  that  country  to 
which  Ponce  de  Leon  had  given  the  name  of  Florida,  fromi 
the  exuberant  productions  of  the  soil  and  the  beauty  of  the 
Bcenerj"  and  climate.  The  R.iver  Mississippi*  had  been  dis- 
covered by  Ferdinand  de  Soto,t  about  the  time  of  Jacques 
Cartier's  last  voyage,  1513  ;  consequently,  the  Spaniards 
had  this  additional  claim  upon  the  territory,  which,  they  af- 
firmed, they  had  visited  in  1512,  twelve  years  before  the 
date  of  Verazzano's  voyage  in  1524.  However,  the  claims 
and  rights  of  the  different  European  nations  upon  the  Amer- 
ican Continent  were  not  then  of  sufficient  strength  to  pre- 
vent each  state  from  pursuing  its  own  views  of  occupation. 
Coligni  obtained  permission  from  Charles  IX.  to  attempt  the 
establishment  of  a  colony  in  Florida,^  about  the  year  1562. 
The  king  was  the  more  readily  induced  to  approve  of  this  en- 
terprise, as  he  hoped  that  it  would  occupy  the  tui'bulent  spirits 
of  the  Huguenots,  many  of  them  his  bitter  enemies,  and  ele- 
ments of  discord  in  his  dominions.  On  the  18th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1562,  Jean  de  Ribaut,  a  zealous  Protestant,  sailed  from 
Dieppe  with  two  vessels  and  a  picked  crew  ;  many  volun- 
teers, including  some  gentlemen  of  condition,  followed  his 
fortunes.  He  landed  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  near  St.  Ma- 
ry's River,  where  he  established  a  settlement  and  built  a 
fort.  Two  years  afterward  Coligni  sent  out  a  re-enforcement, 
under  the  command  of  Rene  de  Laudonniere  ;   this  _was  the 

*  Nomcjesi-Sipu,  Fish  River,  MoBsisip  by  corruption.  This  river 
is  called  Cucagna  by  Garcilasso. 

t  For  the  romantic  details  of  Ferdinand  de  Soto's  perilous  enter- 
prise, see  Vega  Garcilasso  de  Florida  del  Ynca,  b.  i.,  ch.  iii.,  iv. ;  Her- 
rera,  Dec.  VI.,  b.  vii.,  ch.  ix. ;  Purchas,  4,  1532;  "  Purchas,  his  Pil- 
grimage,"' otherwise  called  '"  Haekluytus  Posthumus;"'  a  voluminous 
compilation  by  a  chaplain  of  Archbishop  Abbot's,  designed  to  comprise 
whatever  had  been  related  concerning  the  religion  of  all  nations,  from 
the  earliest  times. — Miss  Aikins  Charles  /.,  vol.  i.,  p.  39. 

t  "  La  colonic  Franraise  etablie  sous  Charles  IX.  comprenoit  la 
partie  meridionnale  de  la  Caroline  Angloise,  la  Nouvclle  Georgie, 
d'aujourd'hui  (1740)  San  Matteo,  a))pellc  par  Laudonniere  Caroline 
en  rhonneur  du  roi  Charles,  St.  Augustin,  et  tout  ce  que  les  Espagnols 
ont  sur  eelte  cote  jusqu'au  Cap  Francois,  n'a  jamais  cte  appellee  au- 
trement  que  la  Florido  Franyaisc,  ou  la  Nouvellc  France,  ou  la  France 
Occidentale." — Charlevoix,  torn    vi.,  p.  383. 


TFIE    CONaUEST    OF    CANADA.  77 

only  portion  of  the  admiral's  great  scheme  ever  carried  into 
effect  :  when  he  fell,  in  the  awful  massacre  of  Saint  Bar- 
tholomew, his  magnificent  project  was  abandoned.  [1568. J 
After  six  years  of  fierce  struggle  with  the  Spaniards,  the 
survivors  of  this  little  colony  returned  to  France.* 


CHAPTER  III. 


Little  or  no  effort  was  made  to  colonize  any  part  of 
Canada  for  nearly  fifty  years  after  the  loss  of  Roberval ;  but 
the  Huguenots  of  France  did  not  forget  that  hope  of  a  refuge 
from  religious  persecution  which  their  great  leader,  Coligni, 
had  excited  in  their  breasts.  Several  of  the  leaders  of  sub- 
sequent expeditions  of  trade  and  discovery  to  Canada  and 
Acadia  were  Calvinists,  until  1627,  when  Champlain,  zeal- 
ous for  the  Romish  faith,  procured  a  decree  forbidding  the 
free  exercise  of  the  Reformed  religion  in  French  America. 

Although  the  French  seemed  to  have  renounced  all  plan 
of  settlement  in  America  by  the  evacuation  of  Florida,  the 
fishermen  of  Normandy  and  Brittany  still  plied  their  calling 
on  the  Great  Bank  and  along  the  stormy  shores  of  New- 
foundland, and  up  the  Gulf  and  River  of  St.  Lawrence. 
By  degrees  they  began  to  trade  with  the  natives,  and  soon 
the  greater  gains  and  easier  life  of  this  new  pursuit  trans- 
formed many  of  these  hardy  sailors  into  merchants. 

When,  after  fifty  years  of  civil  strife,  the  strong  and  wise 
sway  of  Henry  IV.  restored  rest  to  troubled  France,  the  spir- 
it of  discovery  again  arose.  The  Marquis  de  la  Roche,  a 
Breton  gentleman,  obtained  from  the  king,  in  1598,  a  pat- 
ent granting  the  same  powers  that  Roberval  had  possessed. 
He  speedily  armed  a  vessel,  and  sailed  for  Nova  Scotia  in  the 
same  year,  accompanied  by  a  skillful  Norman  pilot  named 
Chedotel.  He  first  reached  Sable  Island,  where  he  left 
forty  miserable  wretches,  convicts  drawn  from  the  prisons  of 

*  See  Appendix.  Nos.  XV.,  XVI. 


78  THE  COXaUEoT  OF  CANADA. 

France,  till  he  might  discover  some  favorable  situation  for  the 
intended  settlement,  and  make  a  survey  of  the  neighboring 
coasts.  When  La  Roche  ever  reached  the  Continent  of 
America  remains  unknown  ;  but  he  certainly  returned  to 
France,  leaving  the  unhappy  prisoners  upon  Sable  Island  to 
a  fate  more  dreadful  than  even  the  dungeons  or  galleys  of 
France  could  threaten.  After  seven  yeai's  of  dire  suffering, 
twelve  of  these  unfortunates  were  found  alive,  an  expedition 
having  been  tardily  sent  to  seek  them  by  the  king.  When 
they  arrived  in  France,  they  became  objects  of  great  curios- 
ity ;  in  consideration  of  such  unheard-of  suffering,  their  for- 
mer crimes  were  pardoned,  a  sum  of  money  was  given  to 
each,  and  the  valuable  furs  collected  during  their  dreary  im- 
prisonment, but  fraudulently  seized  by  the  captain  of  the  ship 
in  which  they  were  brought  home,  were  allowed  to  their  use. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  Marquis  de  la  Roche,  who  had  so 
cruelly  abandoned  these  men  to  their  fate,  harassed  by  law- 
suits, overwhelmed  with  vexations,  and  ruhied  in  fortune  by 
the  failure  of  his  expedition,  died  miserably  of  a  broken  heart. 
The  misfortunes  and  ruin  of  the  Marquis  de  la  Roche  did 
not  stifle  the  spirit  of  commercial  enterprise  which  the  suc- 
cess of  the  fur  trade  had  excited.  Private  adventurers,  un- 
protected by  any  especial  privilege,  began  to  barter  for  the 
rich  peltries  of  the  Canadian  hunters.  [IGOO.]  A  wealthy 
merchant  of  St.  Malo,  named  Pontgrave,  was  the  boldest 
and  most  successful  of  these  traders  ;  he  made  several  voy- 
ages to  Tadoussac,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay,  bringing 
back  each  time  a  rich  cargo  of  rare  and  valuable  furs.  He 
saw  that  this  commerce  would  open  to  him  a  field  of  vast 
wealth,  could  he  succeed  in  obtaining  an  exclusive  privilege 
to  enjoy  its  advantages,  and  managed  to  induce  Chauvin,  a 
captain  in  the  navy,  to  apply  to  the  king  for  powers  such  as 
De  la  Roche  had  possessed  :  the  application  was  successful, 
a  patent  was  granted  to  Chauvin,  and  Pontgrave  admitted 
to  partnership.  [1602.]  It  was,  however,  in  vain  that  they 
attempted  to  establish  a  trading  post  at  Tadoussac  :*  after 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  79 

having  made  two  voyages  thither  without  rcahzing  their 
sauguiue  expectations  of  gain,  Chauvin  died  while  once  more 
preparing  to  try  his  fortune. 

At  this  time  the  great  object  of  colonization  was  com- 
pletely forgotten  in  the  eager  pursuit  of  the  fur  trade,  till 
De  Chatte,  the  governor  of  Dieppe,  who  succeeded  to  the 
privileges  of  Chauvin,  founded  a  company  of  merchants  at 
Rouen,  for  the  further  development  of  the  resources  of  Can- 
ada. [1G03.]  An  armament  was  fitted  out  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  experienced  Pontgrave  ;  he  was  commissioned 
by  the  king  to  make  further  discoveries  in  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  to  establish  a  settlement  upon  some  suitable  position  on 
the  coast.  Samuel  de  Champlain,  a  captain  in  the  navy, 
accepted  a  command  in  this  expedition  at  the  request  of  De 

sauvages,  qui  y  venoient  au  tems  de  la  traite,  et  qui  emportoient  en- 
suite  leurs  cabannes ;  comme  on  fait  les  logos  d'une  foire.  II  est  vrai 
que  ce  port  a  etc  lonteras  I'abord  de  toutes  les  nations  sauvages  du 
nord  et  de  I'est ;  que  les  Franf ois  s'y  rendoient  des  que  la  navigation 
etoit  libre ;  soit  de  France,  soit  du  Canada ;  que  les  missionnaires 
profitoient  de  I'occasion,  et  y  venoient  negocier  pour  le  ciel.  .  .  .  Au 
reste  Tadoussac  est  un  bon  port,  et  on  m'a  assure  que  vingt  cinq  vais- 
seaux  de  guerre  y  pouvoient  etre  a  I'abri  de  tous  les  vents,  que  I'an- 
crage  y  est  sur,  et  que  I'entree  en  est  facile." — Charlevoix,  torn,  v., 
p.  96,  1721. 

"  Tadoussac,  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  below  Quebec,  is  a  post 
belonging  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  is  the  residence  of  one 
of  its  partners  and  an  agent.  They  alone  are  allowed  to  trade  with 
the  Indians  in  the  interior.  At  Tadoussac  is  a  Roman  Catholic  chap- 
el, a  store  and  warehouse,  and  some  eight  or  ten  dwellings.  Here  is 
erected  a  flag-staff,  surrounded  by  several  pieces  of  cannon,  on  an  em- 
inence elevated  about  fifty  feet,  and  overlooking  the  inner  warehouse, 
where  is  a  sufficient  depth  of  water  to  float  the  largest  vessels.  This 
place  was  early  settled  by  the  French,  who  are  said  to  have  here  erect- 
ed the  first  dwelling  built  of  stone  and  mortar  in  Canada,  and  the  re- 
mains of  it  are  still  to  be  seen.  The  view  is  exceedingly  picturesque 
from  this  point.  The  southern  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence  ma}'  be 
traced,  even  with  the  naked  eye,  for  many  a  league :  the  undulating 
line  of  snow-white  cottages  stretching  far  away  to  the  east  and  west ; 
while  the  scene  is  rendered  gay  and  animated  by  the  frequent  passage 
of  the  merchant  vessel  plowing  its  way  toward  the  port  of  Quebec,  or 
hurrying  upon  the  descending  tide  to  the  Gulf;  while,  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  hill  upon  which  Tadoussac  stands,  the  sublime  and  impress- 
ive scenery  of  the  Saguenay  rises  to  view." — Picturesque  Tourist,  p. 
267  (New  York,  1844). 


80  THE    COXulRST    OF    CAXADA. 

Chattc  ;  he  was  a  native  of  Saiiitonge,  and  had  lately  re- 
turned to  France  from  the  West  Indies,  where  he  had  gained 
a  high  name  for  holdness  and  skill.  Under  the  direction  of 
this  Avise  and  energetic  man  the  first  successfu]  efforts  were 
made  to  found  a  permanent  settlement  in  the  magnificent 
province  of  Canada,  and  the  stain  of  the  errors  and  disasters 
of  more  than  seventy  years  was  at  length  wiped  away. 

Pontgrave  and  Champlain  sailed  for  the  St.  Lawrence  in 
1603.  They  remained  a  short  time  at  Tadoussac,  where 
they  left  their  ships  ;  then,  trusting  themselves  to  a  small,  open 
boat,  with  only  five  sailors,  they  boldly  pushed  up  the  Great 
River  to  the  sault  St.  Louis,  where  Jacques  Cartier  had 
reached  many  years  before.  By  this  time  Hochelaga,  the 
ancient  Indian  city,  had,  from  some  unknown  cause,  sunk 
into  such  insignificance  that  the  adventurers  did  not  even 
notice  it,  nor  deem  it  worthy  of  a  visit ;  but  they  anchored 
for  a  time  under  the  shade  of  the  magnificent  headland  of 
Quebec.  On  the  return  of  the  expedition  to  France,  Cham- 
plain  found,  to  his  deep  regret,  that  De  Chatte,  the  worthy 
and  powerful  patron  of  the  undertaking,  had  died  during  his 
absence.  Pierre  du  Guast,  sieur  de  Monts,  had  succeeded 
to  the  powers  and  privileges  of  the  deceased,  with  even  a 
more  extensive  commission. 

De  Monts  was  a  Calvinist,  and  had  obtained  from  the 
king  the  freedom  of  religious  faith  for  himself  and  his  follow- 
ers in  America,  but  under  the  engagement  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  worship  should  be  establi.shed  among  the  natives. 
Even  his  opponents  admitted  the  honesty  and  patriotism  of 
his  character,*  and  bore  witness  to  his  courage  and  ability  ; 
he  was,  nevertheless,  unsuccessful ;  many  of  those  under  his 
command  failed  in  their  duty,  and  the  jealousy  excited  by 
his  exclusive  privileges  and  obnoxious  doctrines!  involved 
him  in  ruinous  embarrassments. 

*  "  The  colony  that  was  sent  to  Canada  this  year  was  among  the 
number  of  those  things  that  had  not  my  approbation ;  there  was  no 
kind  of  riches  to  be  expected  from  all  those  countries  of  the  New 
World  which  arc  beyond  the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude.  His  majesty 
gave  the  conduct  of  this  expedition  to  the  Sieur  de  Monts.*" — Memoirs 
of  Sully,  h.  xvi.,  p.  241,  English  translation. 

t   The  pious  Romanist.  Cham])l;iin,  lliiis  details  the  inponvpnienccs 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  81 

The  trading  company  established  by  De  Chatte  was  con- 
tinued and  increased  by  his  successor.  With  this  addi- 
tional aid  De  Monts  was  enabled  to  fit  out  a  more  complete 
armament  than  had  ever  hitherto  been  engaged  in  Canadian 
commerce.  He  sailed  from  Havre  on  the  7th  of  March, 
1604,  with  four  vessels.  Of  these,  two  under  his  immedi- 
ate command  were  destined  for  Acadia.  Champlain,  Pou- 
trincourt;  and  many  other  volunteers,  embarked  their  fortunes 
with  him,  purposing  to  cast  their  future  lot  in  the  New 
World.  A  third  vessel  was  dispatched  under  Pontgrave  to 
the  Strait  of  Canso,  to  protect  the  exclusive  trading  privi- 
leges of  the  company.  The  fourth  steered  for  Tadoussac,  to 
barter  for  the  rich  furs  brought  by  the  Indian  hunters  from 
the  dreary  wilds  of  the  Saguenay. 

On  the  6th  of  May  De  Monts  reached  a  harbor  on  the 
coast  of  Acadia,  where  he  seized  and  confiscated  an  English 
vessel,  in  vindication  of  his  exclusive  privileges.  Thence  he 
sailed  to  the  Island  of  St.  Croix,  where  he  landed  his  peo- 
ple, and  established  himself  for  the  winter.  In  the  spring 
of  1605  he  hastened  to  leave  this  settlement,  where  the 
want  of  wood  and  fresh  water,  and  the  terrible  ravages  of 
the  scurvy,  had  disheartened  and  diminished  the  number  of 
his  followers.  In  the  mean  time  Champlain  had  discovered 
and  named  Port  Royal,  now  Annapolis,  a  situation  which 
presented  many  natural  advantages.  De  Monts  removed 
the   establishment   thither,   and   erected   a  fort,   appointing 

caused  by  the  different  creeds  of  the  Frenchmen  composing  the  expe- 
dition of  De  Monts  :  "  II  se  trouva  quelque  chose  a  redire  en  cette  en- 
treprise,  qui  est  en  ce  que  deux  religions  contraires  ne  font  jamais  un 
grand  fruit  pour  la  gloire  de  Dieu  parmi  les  infideles  que  Ton  veut 
convertir.  J'ai  vu  le  ministre  et  notre  cure  s'entre  battre  a  coups  de 
poing,  sur  le  differend  de  la  religion.  Je  ne  sfais  pas  qui  etoit  le  plus 
vaillant  et  qui  donnoit  le  nieilleur  coup,  mas  je  .sfais  tres  bien  que  le 
raini.stre  se  plaignoit  quelquefois  au  Sieur  de  Monts  d'avoir  ete  battue, 
et  vuidoit  en  cette  fafon  les  points  de  controversie.  Je  vous  laisse  a 
penser  si  cela  etoit  beau  a  voir ;  les  sauvages  etoient  tantot  d'une  partie, 
tantot  d'une  autre,  et  les  Franfois  meles  selon  leurs  diverges  croyan- 
ces,  disoit  pis  que  pendre  de  I'une  et  de  I'autre  religion,  quoique  le 
Sieur  de  Monts  y  apportat  la  paix  le  plus  qu'il  pouvoit." — Voyages  de 
la  Nouvelle  France  Occidentale,  dite  Canada^  fails  par  le  Sieur  de 
Champlain  a  Paris,  1632. 

D  2 


82  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

Pontgrave  to  its  command.  Soon  afterward  he  bestowed 
Port  Royal  and  a  large  extent  of  the  neighboring  country 
upon  De  Poutrincourt,  and  the  grant  was  ultimately  con- 
firmed by  letters  patent  from  the  king.  This  was  the  first 
concession  of  land  made  in  North  America  since  its  discovery. 
When  De  Monts  returned  to  France  in  1605,  he  found 
that  enemies  had  been  busily  and  successfully  at  work  in  de- 
stroving  his  influence  at  court.  Complaints  of  the  injustice 
of  his  exclusive  privileges  poured  in  from  all  the  ports  in  the 
kingdom.  It  was  urged  that  he  had  interfered  with  and 
thwarted  the  fisheries,  under  the  pretense  of  securing  the  sole 
right  of  trading  with  the  Indian  hunters.  These  statements 
were  hearkened  to  by  the  king,  and  all  the  Sieur's  privileges 
were  revoked.  De  Monts  bore  up  bravely  against  this  dis- 
aster. He  entered  into  a  new  engagement  with  De  Poutrin- 
court, who  had  followed  him  to  France,  and  dispatched  a 
vessel  from  Pv,ochelle  on  the  13th  of  May  to  succor  the  col- 
ony in  Acadia.  The  voyage  was  unusually  protracted,  and 
the  settlers  at  Port  Royal,  at  length  reduced  to  great  ex- 
tremities, feared  that  they  had  been  abandoned  to  their  fate. 
The  wise  and  energetic  Pontgrave  did  all  that  man  could 
do  to  reassure  them  ;  but,  finally,  their  supplies  being  com- 
pletely exhausted,  he  was  constrained  to  yield  to  the  general 
wish,  and  embark  his  people  for  France.  He  had  scarcely 
Bailed,  however,  when  he  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Poutrin- 
court and  the  long-desired  supplies.  He  then  immediately 
returned  to  Port  Royal,  where  he  found  his  chief  already 
landed.     Under  able  and  judicious  management,*  the  colony 

*  De  Poutrincourt  had  been  accompanied,  in  his  last  voyage  from 
France,  by  Marc  Lescarbot,  well  known  as  one  of  the  best  historians 
of  the  early  French  colonists.  His  memoirs  and  himself  are  thus  de- 
scribed by  Charlevoix  :  "  Un  avocat  de  Paris,  nomme  IMarc  L'Escar- 
bot,  horame  d'esprit  et  fort  attache  a  M.  de  Poutrincourt,  avoit  eu  la 
curiosite  de  voir  le  Nouveau  Monde.  II  aniraoit  les  uns,  il  picquoit 
les  autres  d'honncur,  il  sc  faisoit  aimer  de  tous,  et  no  s'epargnoit  lui- 
merae  en  rien.  II  invenloit  tous  les  jours  quelque  chose  dc  nouveau 
pour  Tutilite  publique,  et  jamais  on  nc  comprit  micux  de  quelle  res- 
source  pcut  ctrc  dans  un  nouvcl  etabli.sscmcnl,  un  esprit  cultive  par 
letude.  .  .  .  C'esl  a  cet  avocat,  que  nous  sommes  redevable  des  meil- 
Icurs  meraoires  que  nous  ayons  de  ce  tjui  s'esl  passe  sous  ses  yeux. 
On  y  voit  un  autcur  exact,  judicieux,  et  un  homme,  qui  etit  etc  aussi 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  83 

increased  and  prospered  until  1G14,  when  it  was  attacked 
and  broken  up  by  Sir  Samuel  Argall  with  a  Virginian  force.* 

The  enemies  of  De  Monts  did  not  relax  in  their  efforts 
till  he  was  deprived  of  his  high  commission.  A  very  insuf- 
ficient indemnity  was  granted  for  the  great  expenses  he  had 
incurred.  Still  he  was  not  disheartened  :  in  the  following 
year,  1607,  he  obtained  a  renewal  of  his  privileges  for  one 
year,  on  condition  that  he  should  plant  a  colony  upon  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  trading  company  did  not 
lose  confidence  in  their  principal,  although  his  courtly  influ- 
ence had  been  destroyed  ;  but  their  object  was  confined  to 
the  prosecution  of  the  lucrative  commerce  in  furs,  for  which 
reason  they  ceased  to  interest  themselves  in  Acadia,  and 
turned  their  thoughts  to  the  Great  River  of  Canada,  where 
they  hoped  to  find  a  better  field  for  their  undertaking.  They 
equipped  two  ships  at  Honfleur,  under  the  command  of  Cham- 
plain  and  Pontgrave,  to  establish  the  fur  trade  at  Tadoussac. 
De  Monts  remained  in  France,  vainly  endeavoring  to  obtain 
an  extension  of  his  patent.  Despite  his  disappointments,  he 
fitted  out  some  vessels  in  the  spring  of  1608,  with  the  as- 
capable  d'etablir  line  colonie  que  d'en  ecrire  une  histoire."  (Charle- 
voix, vol.  i.,  p.  185.)  The  title  of  L'Escarbot's  work  is  "Histoire  de 
la  Nouvelle  France,  par  Marc  L'Escarbot,  Avocat  en  Parleraent,  te- 
raoin  oculaire  d'une  partie  des  choses  y  recitees  :  a  Paris,  1609." 

*  "  Argall  se  fondait  sur  une  concession  de  Jacques  I.,  qui  avait 
permis  a  ses  sujets  de  s'etablir  jusqu'au  quarante  cinq  degres,  et  il 
crut  pouvoir  profiter  de  la  foiblcsse  des  Franfais  pour  les  traitre  en 
usurpateurs.  ...  Si  Poutrincourt  avoit  ete  dans  son  fort  avec  trente 
hommes  bien  arraes,  Argall  n'auroit  pas  merae  eu  I'assurance  de  I'at- 
taquer  ...  en  deux  heures  de  tems  le  feu  consuma  tout  ce  que  le.s 
Franfais  pcssedoient  dans  une  colonie  ou  I'on  avait  deja  depense  plus 
de  cent  mille  ecus.  .  .  .  Celui  qui  y  perdit  davantage,  fut  M.  de  Pou- 
trincourt qui,  depuis  ce  tems  la  ne  songea  plus  a  I'Amerique.  II 
rentra  dans  le  service,  ou  il  s'etait  deja  par  plusieurs  belles  actions  et 
mourut  au  lit  d'honneur." — Jean  de  Laet. 

In  1621,  James  I.  conferred  Acadia  upon  Sir  William  Alexander, 
who  gave  it  the  name  of  Nova  Scotia.  At  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain- 
en-Laye,  in  1632,  it  was  restored  to  the  French;  again  taken  by  the 
English,  it  was  again  restored  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  in 
1667.  In  1710,  when  Acadia  was  taken  liy  General  Nicholson,  the 
English  perceived  its  importance  for  their  commerce.  They  obtained 
its  formal  and  final  cession  at  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  1713. 


84  THE    COXQUEriT    OF    CANADA. 

sistance  of  tlie  company,  and  dispatched  them  to  the  River 
St.  Lawrence  on  the  13  th  of  April,  under  the  same  com- 
mand as  before. 

Champlain  reached  Tadoussac  on  the  3d  of  June  ;  his 
views  were  far  more  extended  than  those  of  a  mere  mer- 
chant ;  even  honest  fame  for  himself,  and  increase  of  glory 
and  power  for  his  country,  were,  in  his  eyes,  objects  subor- 
dinate to  the  extension  of  the  Catholic  faith.  After  a  brief 
stay,  he  ascended  the  Great  River,  examining  the  shore  with 
minute  care,  to  seek  the  most  fitting  place  where  the  first 
foundation  of  French  empire  might  be  laid.  On  the  3d  of 
July  he  reached  Quebec,  where,  nearly  three  quarters  of  a 
century  before,  Jacques  Cartier  had  passed  the  winter.  This 
magnificent  position  was  at  once  chosen  by  Champlain  as 
the  site  of  the  future  capital  of  Canada  :  centuries  of  ex- 
perience have  proved  the  wisdom  of  the  selection  ;  admirably 
situated  for  purposes  of  war  or  commerce,  and  completely 
commanding  the  navigation  of  the  Great  River,  it  stands 
the  center  of  a  scene  of  beauty  that  can  nowhere  be  sur- 
passed. 

On  the  bold  headland  overlooking  the  waters  of  the  basin, 
he  commenced  his  work  by  felling  the  trees,  and  rooting  up 
the  wild  vines  and  tangled  underwood  from  the  virgin  soil. 
Some  rude  huts  were  speedily  erected  for  shelter ;  spots 
around  them  were  cultivated  to  test  the  fertility  of  the  land : 
this  labor  was  repaid  by  abundant  production.  The  first 
permanent  work  undertaken  in  the  new  settlement  was  the 
erection  of  a  solid  building  as  a  magazine  for  their  provi- 
sions. A  temporary  barrack  on  the  highest  point  of  the 
position,  for  the  officers  and  men,  Avas  subsequently  con- 
structed. These  preparations  occupied  the  remainder  of  the 
summer.  The  first  enow  fell  on  the  18th  of  November,  but 
only  remained  on  the  ground  for  two  days  :  in  December  it 
again  returned,  and  the  face  of  nature  was  covered  till  the 
end  of  April,  1609.  From  the  time  of  Jacques  Cartier  to 
the  establishment  of  Champlain,  and  even  to  the  present 
day,  there  has  been  no  very  decided  amelioration  of  the  se- 
verity of  the  climate  ;  indeed,  some  of  the  earliest  records 
notice  seasons  milder  than  many  of  modern  davs. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  85 

The  town  of  Stadacona,  like  its  prouder  neighbor  of  Ho- 
chelaga,  seems  to  have  dwindled  into  insignificance  since  the 
time  when  it  had  been  an  object  of  such  interest  and  suspi- 
cion to  Jacques  Cartier.  Some  Indians  still  lived  in  huts 
around  Quebec,  but  in  a  state  of  poverty  and  destitution, 
very  different  from  the  condition  of  their  ancestors.  During 
the  winter  of  1608,  they  suffered  dire  extremities  of  famine  ; 
several  came  over  from  the  southern  shores  of  the  river,  mis- 
erably reduced  by  starvation,  and  scarcely  able  to  drag  along 
their  feeble  limbs,  to  seek  aid  from  the  strangers.  Champlain 
relieved  their  necessities  and  treated  them  with  politic  kind- 
ness. The  French  suffered  severely  from  the  scurvy  during 
the  first  winter  of  their  residence. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  1609,  Champlain,  accompanied  by 
two  Frenchmen,  ascended  the  Great  River  with  a  war  party 
of  Canadian  Indians.  After  a  time,  turning  southward  up 
a  tributary  stream,  he  came  to  the  shores  of  a  large  and 
beautiful  lake,  abounding  with  fish  ;  the  shores  and  neigh- 
boring forests  sheltered,  in  their  undisturbed  solitude,  count- 
less deer  and  other  animals  of  the  chase.  To  this  splendid 
sheet  of  Avater  he  gave  his  own  name,  which  it  still  bears. 
To  the  south  and  west  rose  huge  snow-capped  mountains, 
and  in  the  fertile  valleys  below  dwelt  numbers  of  the  fierce 
and  hostile  Iroquois.  Champlain  and  his  savage  allies 
pushed  on  to  the  furthest  extremity  of  the  lake,  descended  a 
rapid,  and  entered  another  smaller  sheet  of  water,  afterward 
named  St.  Sacrement.  Ou  the  shore  they  encountered  two 
hundred  of  the  Iroquois  warriors  ;  a  battle  ensued  ;  the  skill 
and  the  astonishing  weapons  of  the  white  men  soon  gave 
their  Canadian  allies  a  complete  victory.  Many  prisoners 
were  taken,  and,  in  spite  of  Champlain's  remonstrances,  put 
to  death  with  horrible  and  protracted  tortures.  The  brave 
Frenchman  returned  to  Quebec,  and  sailed  for  Europe  in 
September,  leaving  Captain  Pierre  Chauvin,  an  experienced 
officer,  in  charge  of  the  infant  settlement.  Henry  IV.  re- 
ceived Champlain  with  favor,  and  called  him  to  an  interview 
at  Fontainebleau  :  *  the  king  listened  attentively  to  the  re- 

*  "  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  name  of  New  France  was  first 
given  to  Canada." — Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  232. 


86  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

port  of  the  new  colony,  expressing  great  satisfaction  at  its 
successful  foundation  and  favorable  promise.  But  the  ener- 
getic De  Monts,  to  whom  so  much  of  this  success  was  due, 
could  find  no  courtly  aid  :  the  renewal  of  his  privilege  was 
refused,  and  its  duration  had  already  expired.  By  the  as- 
sistance of  the  Merchant  Company,  he  fitted  out  two  vessels 
in  the  spring  of  1(310,  under  the  tried  command  of  Cham- 
plain  and  Pontgrave  :  the  first  was  destined  for  Quebec, 
with  some  artisans,  settlers,  and  necessary  supplies  for  the 
colony ;  the  second  was  commissioned  to  carry  on  the  fur 
trade  at  Tadoussac.  Champlain  sailed  from  Ilonfieur  on 
the  8th  of  April,  and  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay 
in  eighteen  days,  a  passage  which  even  all  the  modern  im- 
provements in  navigation  have  rarely  enabled  any  one  to 
surpass  in  rapidity.  He  soon  hastened  on  to  Quebec,  where, 
to  his  great  joy,  he  found  the  colonists  contented  and  pros- 
perous ;  the  virgin  soil  had  abundantly  repaid  the  labors  of 
cultivation,  and  the  natives  had  in  no  wise  molested  their 
dangerous  visitors.  He  joined,  the  neighboring  tribes  of 
Algonquin  and  Montagnez  Indians,  during  the  summer,  in 
an  expedition  against  the  Iroquois.  Having  penetrated  the 
woody  countiy  beyond  Sorel  for  some  distance,  they  came 
upon  a  place  where  their  enemies  were  intrenched  ;  this 
they  took,  after  a  bloody  resistance.  Champlain  and  another 
Frenchman  were  slightly  wounded  in  the  encounter. 

In  1612  Champlain  found  it  necessary  to  revisit  France  ; 
some  powerful  patron  was  wanted  to  forward  the  interests 
of  the  colony,  and  to  provide  the  supplies  and  resources  re- 
quired for  its  extension.  The  Count  de  Soissons  readily  en- 
tered into  his  vicM's,  and  delegated  to  him  the  authority  of 
viceroy,  which  had  been  conferred  upon  the  count.*  Soissons 
died  soon  after,  and  the  Prince  of  Condc  became  his  succes- 
sor. Champlain  was  wisely  continued  in  the  command  he 
had  80  long  and  ably  held,  but  was  delayed  in  France  for 
some  time  by  dilliculties  on  the  subject  of  commerce  with 
the  merchants  of  St.  Male. 

Champlain   sailed   again  from   St.  Malo   on    the   Gth  of 
March,   1613,  in  a  vessel  commanded  by   Pontgrave,  and 
*  Champlain,  part  i.,  p.  231  ;  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  236. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  87 

anchored  before  Quebec  on  the  7th  of  May.  He  found  the 
state  of  affairs  at  the  settlement  so  satisfactory  that  his  con- 
tinued presence  was  unnecessary  ;  he  therefore  proceeded  at 
once  to  Montreal,  and,  after  a  short  stay  at  that  island,  ex- 
plored for  some  distance  the  course  of  the  Ottawa,  which 
there  pours  its  vast  flood  into  the  main  stream  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.  The  white  men  were  filled  with  wonder  and 
admiration  at  the  magnitude  of  this  great  tributary,  the 
richness  and  beauty  of  its  shores,  the  broad  lakes  and  deep 
rapids,  and  the  eternal  forests,  clothing  mountain,  plain,  and 
valley  for  countless  leagues  around.  As  they  proceeded  they 
found  no  diminution  in  the  volume  of  water  ;  and  when  they 
inquired  of  the  wandering  Indian  for  its  source,  he  pointed 
to  the  northwest,  and  indicated  that  it  lay  in  the  unknown 
solitudes  of  ice  and  snow,  to  which  his  people  had  never 
reached.  After  this  expedition  Champlain  returned  with 
his  companion  Pontgrave  to  St.  Male,  where  they  arrived  in 
the  end  of  August. 

Having  engaged  some  wealthy  merchants  of  St.  Malo, 
Rouen,  and  Rochelle  in  an  association  for  the  support  of 
the  colony,  through  the  assistance  of  the  Prince  of  Conde, 
viceroy  of  New  France,  he  obtained  letters  patent  of  incor- 
poration for  the  company  [1614].  The  temporal  welfare 
of  the  settlement  being  thus  placed  upon  a  secure  basis, 
Champlain,  who  was  a  zealous  Catholic,  next  devoted  him- 
self to  obtain  spiritual  aid.  By  his  entreaties  four  Recollets 
were  prevailed  upon  to  undertake  the  mission.  These  were 
the  first*  ministers   of  religion   settled  in  Canada.      They 

*  Seven  or  eight  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  PP.  Recollets  at 
Quebec,  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  had  found  their  way  to  Nova 
Scotia.  They  were  Jesuits.  It  was  remarkable  that  Henry  IV.,  whose 
life  had  been  twice  attempted  by  the  Jesuits,'  should  have  earnestly 
urged  their  establishment  in  America.  When  Port  Royal  was  ceded 
to  Poutrincourt  by  De  Monts,  the  king  intimated  to  him  that  it  was 
time  to  think  of  the  conversion  of  the  savages,  and  that  it  was  his 
desire  that  the  Jesuits  should  be  employed  in  this  work.  Charlevoix 
acknowledges  that  De  Poutrincourt  was  "  un  fort  honncte  homme,  et 

>  By  Barriere  in  1593  ;  by  Jean  Ch^tel  in  1594.  He  finally  perished  by  the  hand  of 
RavaiUac,  in  1610.  See  Sully's  Memoirs,  b.  vi.,  vii.  ;  Cayet,  Chron.  Noven.,  b.  v.  ; 
Piire  de  Chalons,  torn,  iii.,  p.  245,  quoted  by  Sully. 


88  THE  CONaUEST  OP  CANADA. 

reached  Quebec  in  the  beginning  of  April,  1615,  accom- 
panied by  Champlain,  who,  however,  at  once  proceeded  to 
Montreal. 

On  arriving  at  this  island,  he  found  the  Huron  and  other 
allied  tribes  again  preparing  for  an  expedition  against  the 
Iroquois.  With  a  view  of  gaining  the  friendship  of  the 
savages,  and  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  country,  he 
injudiciously  offered  himself  to  join  a  quarrel  in  Avhich  he 
was  in  no  wise  concerned.  The  father  Joseph  Le  Caron 
accompanied  him,  in  the  view  of  preparing  the  way  for  re- 
ligious instruction,  by  making  himself  acquainted  with  the 
habits  and  language  of  the  Indians.  Champlain  was  ap- 
pointed chief  by  the  allies,  but  his  savage  followers  ren- 
dered slight  obedience  to  this  authority.  The  expedition 
proved  very  disastrous  :  the  Iroquois  were  strongly  intrench- 
ed, and  protected  by  a  quantity  of  felled  trees  ;  their  re- 
sistance proved  successful ;  Champlain  was  \vounded,  and 
the  allies  were  forced  to  retreat  with  shame  and  with  heavy 
loss. 

The  respect  of  the  Indians  for  the  French  was  much 
diminished  by  this  untoward  failure  ;   they  refused  to  furnish 

sincerement  attache  it  la  religion  Catholique "'  —  nevertheless,  his 
prejudices  against  Jesuits  were  so  strong,  that  '"il  etoit  bien  resolu  de 
ne  las  point  mene  au  Port  Royal."  On  various  pretexts  he  evaded 
obeying  the  royal  commands,  and  when,  the  year  after,  the  Jesuits 
were  sent  out  to  him,  at  the  expense  of  Madame  de  Gruercheville, 
and  by  the  orders  of  the  queen's  mother,  he  rendered  their  stay  at  Port 
Royal  as  uncomfortable  as  was  consistent  with  his  noble  and  generous 
character,  vigilantly  guarding  against  their  acquiring  any  dangerous 
influence.  His  former  prejudices  could  not  have  been  lessened  by  the 
assassination  of  Henry  IV .^  Tlie  two  Jesuits  selected  by  P.  Cotton, 
Henry  IV. 's  confessor,  for  missionary  labors  in  Acadia,  were  P.  Pierre 
Biast  and  P.  Enemond  ^lassc.  The}'  were  taken  prisoners  at  the 
time  of  Argall's  descent  on  Acadia,  1614,  and  conveyed  to  England. 
— Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  189,  216. 

'  Uenri  s'  etait  moDtr6  bienveillant  pour  les  Jcsuites,  encore  que  les  parleraeris  et 
tons  ceux  qui  tenoient,  4  la  magistrature  ressentuient  plus  de  pr^veution  contre  ceg 

religieus  que  les  Hugonots  eux-mfimcs Henri  IV.  fit  abattre  la  pyramide  qui 

avait  6t6  ^lev6c  en  mtmoire  do  1'  attentat  de  Jean  Chfttel  contre  lui,  parco  que  1' 
inBcriptiun  qu'  ellc  portait  inculpait  les  J^suitos  d'  avojr  excit6  a  cet  assassinat. — 
Sismondi :  Ilistoire  des  Frangois.  See  De  Thou,  torn  ix.,  p.  696,  704  ;  torn,  x.,  p. 
20  A  30. 


THE    CONaUEST    OF    CANADA.  fl9 

Champlain  with  a  promised  guide  to  conduct  him  to  Quebec, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  pass  the  winter  among  them  as  an 
unwilling  guest.  He,  hoAvever,  made  the  best  use  of  his 
time  ;  he  visited  many  of  the  principal  Huron  and  Algon- 
quin towns,  even  those  as  distant  as  Lake  Nipissing,  and 
succeeded  in  reconciling  several  neighboring  nations.  At 
the  opening  of  the  navigation,  he  gained  over  some  of  the 
Indians  to  his  cause,  and,  finding  that  another  expedition 
against  the  Iroquois  was  in  preparation,  embarked  secretly 
and  arriA^ed  at  Quebec  on  the  11th  of  July,  1616,  when  he 
found  that  he  and  the  father  Joseph  were  supposed  to  have 
been  dead  long  since.  They  both  sailed  for  France  soon 
after  their  return  from  among  the  Hurons. 

In  the  following  year,  a  signal  service  was  rendered  to 
the  colony  by  a  worthy  priest  named  Duplessys  :  he  had 
been  engaged  for  some  time  at  Three  Rivers  in  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  savages,  and  had  happily  so  far  gained  their 
esteem,  that  some  of  his  pupils  informed  him  of  a  conspiracy 
among  all  the  neighboring  Indian  tribes  for  the  utter  de- 
struction of  the  French  ;  eight  hundred  chiefs  and  warriors 
had  assembled  to  arrange  the  plan  of  action.  Duplessys 
contrived,  with  consummate  ability,  to  gain  over  some  of  the 
principal  Indians  to  make  advances  toward  a  reconciliation 
with  the  white  men,  and,  by  degrees,  succeeded  in  arranging 
a  treaty,  and  in  causing  two  chiefs  to  be  given  up  as  hos- 
tages for  its  observance. 

For  several  years  Champlain  was  constantly  obliged  to 
visit  France  for  the  purpose  of  urging  on  the  tardily  pro- 
vided aids  for  the  colony.  The  court  would  not  interest 
itself  in  the  affairs  of  New  France  since  a  company  had 
undertaken  their  conduct,  and  the  merchants,  always  limited 
in  their  views  to  mere  commercial  objects,  cared  but  little 
for  the  fate  of  the  settlers  so  long  as  their  warehouses  were 
stored  with  the  valuable  furs  brought  by  the  Indian  hunters. 
These  difficulties  would  doubtless  have  smothered  the  infant 
aation  in  its  cradle,  had  it  not  been  for  the  untiring  zeal  and 
constancy  of  its  great  founder.  At  every  step  he  met  with 
new  trials  from  the  indifTerence,  caprice,  or  contradiction  of 
his  associates,  but,  with  his  eye  steadily  fixed  upon  the  fu- 


90  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ture,  he  devoted  his  fortune  and  the  energies  of  his  life  to 
the  cause,  and  rose  superior  to  every  obstacle. 

In  1G20,  the  Prince  of  Conde  sold  the  vice-royalty  of 
New  France  to  his  brother-in-law,  the  Marshal  de  Mont- 
morenci,  for  eleven  thousand  crowns.  The  marshal  wisely 
continued  Champlain  as  lieutenant  governor,  and  intrusted 
the  management  of  colonial  affairs  in  France  to  M.  Dolu,  a 
gentleman  of  known  zeal  and  probity.  Champlain  being 
hopeful  that  these  changes  would  favorably  affect  Canada, 
resolved  now  to  establish  his  family  permanently  in  that 
country.  Thaking  them  with  him,  he  sailed  from  France 
in  the  above-named  year,  and  arrived  at  Quebec  in  the  end 
of  May.  In  passing  by  Tadoussac,  he  found  that  some  ad- 
venturers of  Rochelle  had  opened  a  trade  with  the  savages, 
in  violation  of  the  company's  privileges,  and  had  given  the 
fatal  example  of  furnishing  the  hunters  with  fire-arms  in  ex- 
change for  their  peltries. 

A  great  danger  menaced  the  colony  in  the  year  1621. 
The  Iroquois  sent  three  large  parties  of  warriors  to  attack 
the  French  settlements.  This  savage  tribe  feared  that  if 
the  white  men  obtained  a  footing  in  the  country,  their  alli- 
ance with  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins,  of  which  the  effects 
had  already  been  felt,  might  render  them  too  powerful. 
The  first  division  marched  upon  Sault  St.  Louis,  where  a 
few  Frenchmen  were  established.  Happily,  there  was  warn- 
ing of  their  approach  ;  the  defenders,  aided  by  some  Indian 
allies,  repulsed  them  with  much  loss,  and  took  several  pris- 
oners. The  Iroquois  had,  however,  seized  Father  Guillaume 
Poulain,  one  of  the  llecollets,  in  their  retreat ;  they  tied  him 
to  a  stake,  and  were  about  to  burn  him  alive,  when  they 
were  persuaded  to  exchange  the  good  priest  for  one  of  their 
own  chiefs,  who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  French. 
Another  party  of  these  fierce  marauders  dropped  down  the 
river  to  Quebec  in  a  fleet  of  thirty  canoes,  and  suddenly  in- 
vested the  Convent  of  the  Recollets,  where  a  small  fort  had 
been  erected ;  they  did  not  venture  to  attack  this  little 
stronghold,  but  fell  upon  some  Huron  villages  near  at  hand, 
and  massacred  the  helpless  inhabitants  with  frightful  cruelty ; 
they  then  retreated  as  suddenly  as  they  had  come.    Alarmed 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  91 

by  this  ferocious  attack,  which  weakness  aud  the  want  of- 
sufficient  supplies  prevented  him  from  avenginj^,  Champlain 
sent  Father  Georges  le  Brebeuf  as  an  ageiit,  to  represent  to  the 
king  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  colony,  from  the  criminal 
neglect  of  the  company.  The  appeal  was  successful ;  the  com- 
pany was  suppressed,  and  the  exclusive  privilege  transferred 
to  Guillaume  and  Emeric  de  Caen,  uncle  and  nephew. 

The  king  himself  wrote  to  his  worthy  subject  Champlain, 
expressing  high  approval  of  his  eminent  services,  and  exhort- 
ing him  to  continue  in  the  same  career.  This  high  com- 
mendation served  much  to  strengthen  his  hands  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  difficult  authority.  He  was  embarrassed  by 
constant  disputes  between  the  servants  of  the  suppressed 
company,  and  those  who  acted  for  the  De  Caens  :  I'eligious 
difi'erences  also  served  to  embitter  these  dissensions,  as  the 
new  authorities  were  zealous  Huguenots. 

This  year  Champlain  discovered  that  his  ancient  allies.. 
the  Hurons,  purposed  to  detach  themselves  from  his  friend- 
ship, and  unite  with  the  Iroquois  for  his  destruction.  To 
avert  this  danger,  he  sent  among  them  Father  Joseph  la 
Caron  and  two  other  priests,  who  appear  to  have  succeeded 
in  their  mission  of  reconciliation.  The  year  after,  he  erected 
a  stone  fort*  at  Quebec  for  the  defense  of  the  settlement, 
which  then  only  numbered  fifty  souls  of  all  ages  and  sexes. 
As  soon  as  the  defenses  were  finished,  Champlain  departed 
for  France  with  his  family,  to  press  for  aid  from  the  govern- 
ment for  the  distressed  colony. 

On  his  arrival,  he  found  that  Henri  de  Levi,  duke  de 
Ventadour,  had  purchased  the  vice-royalty  of  New  France 
from  the  Marshal  de  Montmorenci,  his  uncle,  with  the  view 
of  promoting  the  spiritual  welfare  of  Canada,  and  the  general 
conversion  of  the  heathen  Indians  to  the  Christian  faith. 
He  had  himself  long  retired  from  the  strife  and  troubles  of 

*  When  Champlain  first  laid  the  foundations  of  the  fort  in  1623,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  St.  Louis,  it  is  evident  that  he  was  ac- 
tuated by  views,  not  of  a  political,  but  a  commercial  character. 
When  Montmagny  rebuilt  the  fort  in  1635,  it  covered  about  four  acres 
of  ground,  and  formed  nearly  a  parallelogram.  Of  these  works  only 
a  few  vestiges  remain,  except  the  eastern  wall,  which  is  kept  in  solid 
repair. — Bonchette. 


92  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  world,  and  entered  into  holy  orders.  Being  altogether 
under  the  influence  of  the  Jesuits,  he  considered  them  as  the 
means  given  by  heaven  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  views. 
The  pious  and  exemplary  Father  Lallemant,  with  four  other 
priests  and  laymen  of  the  Order  of  Jesus,  undertook  the  mis- 
sion, and  sailed  for  Canada  in  1625.  They  were  received 
without  jealousy  by  their  predecessors  of  the  Recollets,  and 
admitted  under  their  roof  on  their  first  arrival.*  The  fol- 
lowing year  three  other  Jesuit  fathers  reached  Quebec  in  a 
little  vessel  provided  by  themselves  ;  many  artisans  accom- 
panied them.  By  the  aid  of  this  re-enforcement,  the  new 
settlement  soon  assumed  the  appearance  of  a  town. 

The  Huguenot  De  Caens  used  their  powerful  influence  to 
foment  the  religious  disputes  noAv  raging  in  the  infant  settle- 
ment ;  t  they  were  also  far  more  interested  in  the  profitable 
pursuit  of  the  fur  trade  than  in  promoting  the  progress  of 
colonization  ;  for  these  reasons,  the  Cardinal  de  Richelieu 
judged  that  their  rule  was  injurious  to  the  prcsperity  of  the 
country  ;  he  revoked  their  privileges,  and  caused  the  forma- 
tion of  a  numerous  company  of  Avealthy  and  upright  men  ; 
to  this  he  transferred  the  charge  of  the  colony.  This  body 
was  chartered  under  the  name  of  "  The  Company  of  One 
Hundred  Associates  :"  J  their  capital  was  100,000  crowns; 
their  privileges  as  follow^s  :  To  be  proprietors  of  Canada  ;  to 

*  Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  247. 

t  "  Ce  fut  Guillaume  de  Caen  qui  les  eoiiduisit  (Ics  Jcsuites)  a 
Quebec.  II  avoit  donne  sa  parole  au  Due  de  Ventadour  qu"il  ne  lais- 
scroit  les  Jesuites  manquer  de  rien;  cependant,  des  qu"ils  furent  de- 
barques,  il  leur  declara  que,  si  les  PP.  Recollets  ne  vouloient  pas  les 
recevoir  et  les  loger  chez  eux,  ils  n'avoient  point  d'autre  parti  a  prendre 
que  retourner  en  France.  Ils  s'aperfurent  meme  bientot  qu'on  avoit 
travaille  a  prevcnir  centre  eux  les  habitans  de  Quebec,  en  leur  mettant 
entre  les  mains  les  ecrits  les  plus  injurieux,  que  les  Calvinistes  de 
France  avoient  publics  centre  leur  compagnie.  Mais  leur  presence 
cut  bientot  elface  tous  ces  prejuges." — Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  248. 

t  Charlevoix  highly  extols  this  brilliant  conception  of  the  Cardinal 
de  Richelieu,  "  et  ne  craint  point  d'avancer  que  la  Nouvelle  France 
seroit  aujourd'hui  la  plus  puissante  colonic  de  1' Amerique,  si  Texecution 
avoit  repondue  a  la  beaute  du  projet,  et  si  les  raembres  de  ce  grand 
corps  eussent  profite  des  dispositions  t'avorables  du  souverain  et  de  son 
ministre  a  leur  egard."  —  Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  250;  Memoires  des 
Cornmhsairfit,  vol.  i.,  p.  346. 


THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANAUA.  93 

govern  in  peace  and  war ;  to  enjoy  the  whole  trade  lor  lilleen 
years  (except  the  cod  and  whale  fishery),  and  the  fur  trade 
in  perpetuity  ;  untaxed  imports  and  exports.  The  king  gave 
them  two  ships  of  300  tons  burden  each,  and  raised  twelve 
of  the  principal  members  to  the  rank  of  nobility.  The  com- 
pany, on  their  part,  undertook  to  introduce  200  or  300  set- 
tlers during  the  year  1628,  and  16,000  more  before  1643, 
providing  them  with  all  necessaries  for  three  years,  and  settling 
them  afterward  on  a  sufficient  extent  of  cleared  land  for  their 
future  support.  The  articles  of  this  agreement  were  signed 
by  the  Cardinal  de  Richelieu  on  the  19th  of  April,  1627, 
and  subsequently  approved  by  the  king. 

At  this  time  the  Indians  were  a  constant  terror  to  the 
settlers  in  Canada :  several  Frenchmen  had  been  assassinated 
by  the  ruthless  savages,  and  their  countrymen  were  too  feeble 
in  numbers  to  demand  the  punishment  of  the  murderers. 
Conscious  of  their  strengthj  the  natives  became  daily  more 
insolent ;  no  white  man  could  venture  beyond  the  settlement 
without  incurring  great  danger.  Building  languished,  and 
much  of  the  cleared  land  remained  uncultivated.  Such  was 
the  disastrous  state  of  the  colony. 

The  commencement  of  the  company's  government  was 
marked  by  heavy  misfortune.  The  first  vessels  sent  by  them 
to  America  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  at  the  sudden 
breaking  out  of  hostilities.  In  1628,  Sir  David  Kertk,  a 
French  Calvinist  refugee  in  the  British  service,  reached  Ta- 
doussac  with  a  squadron,  burned  the  fur  houses  of  the  free 
traders,  and  did  other  damage  ;  thence  he  sent  to  Quebec, 
summoning  Champlain  to  surrender.  The  brave  governor 
consulted  with  Pontgrave  and  the  inhabitants  ;  they  came 
to  the  resolution  of  attempting  a  defense,  although  reduced 
to  great  extremities,  and  sent  Kertk  such  a  spirited  answer 
that  he,  ignorant  of  their  weakness,  did  not  advance  upon 
the  town.  He,  however,  captured  a  convoy  under  the  charge 
of  De  Roquemont,  with  several  families  on  board,  and  a  large 
supply  of  provisions  for  the  settlement.  This  expedition 
against  Canada  was  said  to  have  been  planned  and  instigated 
by  De  Caen,  from  a  spirit  of  vengeance  against  those  who 
had  succeeded  to  his  lost  privileges. 


94  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

In  July,  1629,  Lewis  and  Thomas,  brothers  of  Sir  David 
Kertk,  appeared  with  an  armament  before  Quebec.  As  soon 
as  the  fleet  had  anchored,  a  white  flag  with  a  summons  to 
capitulate  was  sent  ashore.  This  time  the  assailants  were 
well  informed  of  the  defenders'  distress,  but  offered  generous 
terms  if  Champlain  would  at  once  surrender  the  fort.  lie, 
having  no  means  of  resistance,  was  fain  to  submit.  The 
English  took  possession  the  following  day,  and  treated  the 
inhabitants  with  such  good  faith  and  humanity,  that  none* 
of  them  left  the  country.  Lewis  Kertk  remained  in  com- 
mand at  Quebec  ;  Champlain  proceeded  Avith  Thomas  to 
Tadoussac,  where  they  met  the  admiral.  Sir  David,  with 
the  remainder  of  the  fleet.  In  September  they  sailed  for 
England,  and  Champlain  was  sent  on  to  France,  according 
to  treaty.* 

When  the  French  received  the  news  of  the  loss  of  Canada, 
opinion  was  much  divided  as  to  the  wisdom  of  seeking  to 
regain  the  captured  settlement. t  Some  thought  its  posses- 
sion of  little  value  in  proportion  to  the  expense  it  caused, 
while  others  deemed  that  the  fur  trade  and  fisheries  were  of 
great  importance  to  the  commerce  of  France,  as  well  as  a 
useful  nursery  for  experienced  seamen.  Champlain  strongly 
urged  the  government  not  to  give  up  a  country  where  they 
had  already  overcome  the  principal  difficulties  of  settlement, 
and  where,  through  their  means,  the  light  of  religion  was 
dawning  upon  the  darkness  of  heathen  ignorance.  His 
solicitations  were  successful,  and  Canada  was  restored  to 
France  at  the  same  time  with  Acadia  and  Cape  Breton,  by 
the  treaty  of  St.  Germain-cn-Laye$  [1632].  At  this  period 
the  fort  of  Quebec,  surrounded  by  a  score  of  hastily-built 
dwellings  and  barracks,  some  poor  huts  on  the  island  of 
Montreal,  the  like  at  Three  Rivers  and  Tadoussac,  and  a 

*  Champlain's  proposals  of  capitulation  (Smith's  Canada,  vol.  i.,  p. 
22)  sufficiently  prove  that,  down  to  1629,  France  had  scarcely  any 
j)crraanent  footing  in  the  country.  By  stipulating  for  the  removal  of 
'"all  the  French"  in  Quebec,  Champlain  seems  to  consider  that  the 
whole  province  was  virtually  lost  to  France,  and  "the  single  vessel,"' 
which  was  to  furnish  the  means  of  removal,  reduces  "all  the  French'' 
in  Quebec  to  a  very  small  number. 

t  (.'harlevoix.  f   Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  y.  273. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  95 

few  fishermen's  log-houses  elsewhere  on  the  banks  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  were  the  only  fruits  of  the  discoveries  of  Veraz- 
zano,  Jacques  Cartier,  Roberval,  and  Champlain,  the  great 
outlay  of  La  Roche  and  De  Mouts,  and  the  toils  and  suffer- 
ings of  their  followers,  for  nearly  a  century.* 

By  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain-en-Laye  the  company  were 
restored  to  all  their  rights  and  privileges,  and  obtained  com- 
pensation for  the  losses  they  had  sustained,  but  it  was  some 
time  before  the  English  could  be  effectually  excluded  from 
the  trade  which  they  had  established  with  the  Indians  during 
their  brief  possession  of  the  country.  In  1633  Champlain 
was  reappointed  governor  of  New  France,  and  on  his  de- 
parture for  the  colony  took  with  him  many  respectable  set- 
tlers :  several  Protestants  were  anxious  to  join  him  ;  this, 
however,  was  not  permitted.  Two  Jesuits,  Fathers  de  Bre- 
beuf  and  Enemond  Mas.se,  accompanied  the  governor  :  they 
purposed  to  devote  themselves  to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians 
to  Christianity,  and  to  the  education  of  the  youth  of  the 
colony.  The  Recollets  had  made  but  little  progress  in 
proselytism  ;  as  yet,  very  few  of  the  natives  had  been  bap- 
tized, nor  were  the  Jesuits  at  first  t  much  more  successful  ■ 
these  persevering  men  were,  however,  not  to  be  disheartened 
by  difficulties,  and  they  were  supported  by  the  hope  that 
when  they  became  better  acquainted  with  the  language  and 
manners  of  their  pupils,  their  instructions  would  yield  a 
richer  harvest. $ 

*  "  L'ile  au  Cap  Breton  (c'etoit  bien  pen  de  choses  que  I'etablissc- 
mcnt  que  nous  avions  alors  dans  cette  lie)  le  fort  de  Quebec  environne 
de  quelques  mcchantes  maisons  et  de  quelques  baraques,  deux  ou  trois 
cabanes  dans  Tile  de  Montreal,  autant  peutctre  a  Tadoussac,  et  en 
quelque.s  autres  endroits  sur  le  fleuve  Si.  Laurent,  pour  la  commodite 
de  la  peche  et  de  la  Traite.  un  commencement  d'habitation  aux  Trois 
Rivieres  et  les  rivieres  de  Port  Royal,  voila  en  quoi  consistoit  la  Nou- 
velle  France  et  tout  le  fruit  des  deeouvertes  de  Verazzani,  de  Jaques 
Cartier,  de  M.  de  Roberval,  de  Champlain,  des  grandes  dcpenses  de 
Marquis  de  la  Roche,  et  de  ^I.  de  Monts  et  de  Findustric  d'un  grand 
nombre  de  Franjais  qui  auroient  pu  y  faire  un  grand  ctablissement. 
s'ils  eussent  ete  bien  conduits." — Charlevoix,  tom.  i.,  p.  274. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  XVI. 

t  The  Jesuits  always  retained  the  superior  position  they  held  from 
the  first  among  ihe  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  of  Canada.      There 


96  THE  CONaUE.ST  OF  CANADA. 

As  New  France  advanced  in  population  and  prosperity, 
the  sentiments  of  religion  became  strengthened  among  the 
settlers.  On  the  first  arrival  of  the  Jesuits,  Rene  Rohault, 
the  eldest  son  of  the  Marquis  de  Gamache,  and  himself  one 
of  the  order,  adopted  the  idea  of  founding  a  college  at  Quebec 
for  the  education  of  youth  and  the  conversion  of  the  Indians, 
and  offered  6000  crowns  of  gold  as  a  donation  to  forward 
the  object.  The  capture  of  the  settlement  by  the  English 
had,  for  a  time,  interrupted  the  execution  of  this  plan  ;  but 
Rohault  at  length  succeeded  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
building  in  December,  1635,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  French 
colonists. 

In  the  same  month,  to  the  deep  regret  of  all  good  men, 
death  deprived  his  country  of  the  brave,  high-minded,  and 
wise  Champlain.  He  was  buried  in  the  city  of  which  he 
was  the  founder,  where,  to  this  day,  he  is  fondly  and  grate- 
fully remembered  among  the  just  and  good.  Gifted  with 
high  ability,  upright,  active,  and  chivalrous,  he  was,  at  the 
same  time,  eminent  for  his  Christian  zeal  and  humble  piety. 
"  The  salvation  of  one  soul,"  he  often  said,  "is  of  more  value 
than  the  conquest  of  an  empire."  To  him  belongs  the  glory 
of  planting  Christianity  and  civilization  among  the  snows  of 
those  northern  forests ;  during  his  life,  indeed,  a  feeble  germ, 
but,  sheltered  by  his  vigorous  arm — nursed  by  his  tender 
care — the  root  struck  deep.  Little  more  than  two  centuries 
have  passed  since  the  faithful  servant  went  to  rest  upon  the 
field  of  his  noble  toils.  And  now  a  million  and  a  half  of 
Christian  people  dwell  in  peace  and  plenty  upon  that  mag- 
nificent territory,  which  his  zeal  and  wisdom  first  redeemed 
from  the  desolation  of  the  wilderness. 

is  a  well-known  Canadian  proverb,  "  Pour  faire  un  Recollet  il  faul 
line  hachette.  pour  un  Prolro  un  ciseau,  mais  pour  un  Jesuite  il  faul 
un  plnceau."'  Sec  Appendix,  No.  XVII.,  for  Professor  Kalm's  account 
of  these  three  classes. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HLaving  followed  the  course  of  discovery  and  settlement 
in  New  France  up  to  the  death  of  the  man  who  stamped 
the  first  permanent  impression  upon  that  country,  it  is  now 
time  to  revieAv  its  character  and  condition  at  the  period 
when  it  became  the  abode  of  a  civilized  people.  Champlain's 
deputed  commission  of  governor  gave  him  authority  over  all 
that  France  possessed  or  claimed  on  the  continent  and  islands 
of  North  America  ;  Newfoundland,  Isle  Royale,  and  Acadia, 
were  each  portions  of  this  vast  but  vague  territory  ;  and 
those  unknown,  boundless  solitudes  of  ice  and  snow,  lying 
toward  the  frozen  north,  whose  very  existence  was  a  specu- 
lation, were  also,  by  the  shadowy  right  of  a  European  king, 
added  to  his  wide  dominion.  Of  that  portion,  however, 
called  Canada,  it  is  more  especially  the  present  subject  to 
treat. 

Canada  is  a  vast  plain,  irregular  in  elevation  and  feature, 
forming  a  valley  between  two  ranges  of  high  land  ;  one  of 
these  ranges  divides  it,  to  the  north,  from  the  dreary  terri- 
tories of  Hudson's  Bay  ;  the  other,  to  the  south,  from  the 
republic  of  the  United  States  and  the  British  province  of 
New  Brunswick.  None  of  the  hills  rise  to  any  great  height ; 
with  one  exception,  Man's  Hill,  in  the  State  of  Maine,  2000 
feet  is  their  greatest  altitude  above  the  sea.  The  elevated 
districts  are,  however,  of  very  great  extent,  broken,  rugged, 
and  rocky,  clothed  with  dense  forests,  intersected  with  rapid 
torrents,  and  varied  with  innumerable  lakes.  The  great 
plain  of  Canada  narrows  to  a  mere  strip  of  low  land  by  the 
side  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  as  it  approaches  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity. From  Quebec  to  the  gixlf  on  the  north  side,  and 
toward  Gaspe  on  the  south,  the  grim  range  of  mountains 
reaches  almost  to  the  water's  edge  ;  westward  of  that  city 
the  plain  expands,  gradually  widening  into  a  district  of  great 
beauty  and  lertility  ;   again,  westward  of  Montreal,  the  level 

VOL,   I. — E 


98  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

country  becomes  far  wider  and  very  rich,  including  the  broad 
and  valuable  flats  that  lie  along  the  lower  waters  of  the 
Ottawa.  The  rocky,  elevated  shores  of  Lake  Huron  bound 
this  vast  valley  to  the  west ;  the  same  mountain  range  ex- 
tends along  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Superior ;  beyond  lie 
great  tracts  of  fertile  soil,  where  man's  industrious  hand  has 
not  yet  been  applied. 

Canada  may  be  described  as  lying  between  the  meridiaiis 
of  57°  50'  and  90°  west ;  from  the  mouth  of  the  Esquimaux 
River  on  the  confines  of  Labrador,  to  the  entrance  of  the 
stream  connecting  the  waters  of  Lake  Superior  and  the 
Rainy  Lake,  bordering  on  Prince  Rupert's  Land.  The 
parallels  of  42°  and  52°  inclose  this  country  to  the  south 
and  north.  The  greatest  length  is  about  1300  miles,  the 
breadth  700.  A  space  of  348,000  square  miles  is  inclosod 
within  these  limits. 

The  great  lakes  in  Canada  give  a  character  to  that  coun- 
try distinct  from  any  other  in  the  Old  World  or  the  New. 
They  are  very  numerous  ;  some  far  exceed  all  inland  waters 
elsewhere  in  depth  and  extent ;  they  feed,  without  apparent 
diminution,  the  great  river  St.  Lawrence  ;  the  tempest  plows 
their  surface  into  billows  that  rival  those  of  the  Atlantic,* 
and  they  contain  more  than  half  of  all  the  fresh  water  upon 
the  surface  of  the  globe. f 

*  "  The  sea  (if  it  may  be  so  termed)  on  Lake  Ontario  is  so  high 
during  a  sharp  gale,  that  it  was  at  first  thought  the  smaller  class 
steamboats  could  not  live  on  it;  and  on  Lake  Superior,  the  waves 
almost  rival  those  of  the  far-famed  Cape  of  Storms,  while  the  ground- 
swell,  owing  to  the  comparative  shallowness,  or  little  specific  gravity 
of  the  fresh  water,  is  such  as  to  make  the  oldest  sailor  sick.  Whether 
the  water  in  the  lowest  depths  of  Lakes  Superior  and  Ontario  be  salt 
or  fresh,  v^e  can  not  ascertain ;  for  the  greater  density  of  the  former 
may  keep  it  always  below,  or  there  may  be  a  communication  with  the 
fathomless  abysses  of  the  ocean." — IMontgomery  Martin,  p.  181. 

t  "  Beyond  Lake  Superior,  stretching  into  the  vast  interior  of  North 
America,  we  find  first  a  long  chain  of  little  lakes  connected  by  narrow 
channels,  and  which,  combined,  form  what  in  the  early  narratives  and 
even  treaties  is  called  Long  Lake.  Next  occur,  still  connected  by 
the  same  channel,  the  larger  expanses  of  Lake  La  Pluie  and  Lake  of 
the  Woods.  Another  channel  of  about  100  miles  connects  this  last 
with  the  Winnipeg  Lake,  whose  length  from  north  to  south  is  almost 
eipial  to  the  Superior;  but  in  a  few  parts  only  it  attains  the  breadth 


THE    CONQUliST    OF    CANADA.  09 

Superior*'  is  the  largest  and  most  elevated  of  these  lakes : 
it  is  crescent-shaped,  convex  to  the  north ;  to  the  southeast 
and  southwest  its  extremities  are  narrow  points  :  the  length 
through  the  curve  is  360  geographical  miles,  the  breadth  in 
the  widest  part  140,  the  circumference  1500.  The  surface 
of  this  vast  sheet  of  fresh  water  is  627  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  Atlantic  ;  from  various  indications  upon  the  shores, 
there  is  good  reason  to  conclude  that  at  some  remote  period 
it  was  forty  or  fifty  feet  higher.  The  depth  of  Lake  Superior 
varies  much  in  different  parts,  but  is  generally  very  great ; 
at  the  deepest  it  is  probably  1200  feet.  The  waters  are 
miraculously  pure  and  transparent ;  many  fathoms  down,  the 
eye  can  distinctly  trace  the  rock  and  shingle  of  the  bottom, 
and  follow  the  quick  movements  of  the  numerous  and  beau- 
tiful fish  inhabiting  these  crystal  depths.  No  tides  vary  the 
stillness  of  this  inland  sea,  but  when  a  strong  prevailing  wind 
sweeps  over  the  surface,  the  waves  are  lashed  to  fury,  and 
the  waters,  driven  by  its  force,  crowd  up  against  the  leeward 
shore.  When  in  the  spring  the  warm  sun  melts  the  mount- 
ain snows,  and  each  little  tributary  becomes  an  impetuous 

of  50  miles.  The  whole  of  this  wonderful  series  of  lakes,  separated 
by  such  small  intervals,  may  almost  be  considered  as  forming  one  in- 
land sea.  There  is  nothing  parallel  to  this  in  the  rest  of  the  globe. 
The  Tzad,  the  great  interior  sea  of  Africa,  does  not  equal  the  Ontario. 
The  Caspian,  indeed,  is  considerably  greater  than  any  of  these  lakes, 
almost  equal  to  the  whole  united ;  but  the  Caspian  forms  the  final  re- 
ceptacle of  many  great  rivers,  among  which  the  Volga  is  of  the  first 
magnitude.  But  the  northern  waters,  after  forming  this  magnificent 
chain  of  lakes,  are  not  yet  exhausted,  but  issue  forth  from  the  last  of 
them,  to  form  one  of  the  noblest  river  channels  either  iu  the  old  or  new 
continent." — History  of  Discoveries  and  Travels  in  North  .America,  by 
H.  Murray,  Esq..  vol.  ii.,  p.  458. 

*  "Lake  Superior  is  called,  also,  Keetcheegahmi  and  Missisawgaie- 
gon.  It  is  remarkable,  that  while  every  other  large  lake  is  fed  by 
rivers  of  the  first  order,  this,  the  most  capacious  on  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  does  not  receive  a  third  or  even  fourth  rate  stream ;  the  St. 
Louis,  the  most  considerable,  not  having  a  course  of  more  than  150 
miles.  But,  whatever  deficiency  there  may  be  in  point  of  magnitude, 
it  is  compensated  by  the  vast  number  which  pour  in  their  copious 
floods  from  the  surrounding  heights.  The  dense  covering  of  wood 
and  the  long  continuance  of  frost  must  also,  in  this  region,  greatly 
diminish  the  quantity  drawn  off"  by  evaporation.'" — Bouchette,  vol.  i., 
p.  127,  128.      Darby's  View  of  the  United  States  (1828),  p.  200. 


100  THK    CONaUIiST    OF    CANADA. 

torrent  pouriuj^  into  this  great  basin,  the  level  of  the  surface 
rises  many  feet.  Although  no  river  of  any  magnitude  helps 
to  supply  Lake  Superior,  a  vast  number  of  small  streams 
fall  in  firom  among  clefts  and  glens  along  the  rugged  shores  ;* 
there  are  also  many  large  islands  ;  one,  Isle  Royale,  is  more 
than  forty  miles  in  length.  In  some  places  lofty  hillst  rise 
abruptly  from  the  water's  edge ;  in  others  there  are  intervals 
of  lower  lands  for  sixty  or  seventy  miles,  but  every  where 
stands  the  primeval  forest,  clothing  height  and  hollow  alike. 
At  the  southeastern  extremity  of  this  lake,  St.  Mary's  Chan- 
nel carries  the  superabundant  waters  for  nearly  forty  miles, 
till  they  fall  into  Lake  Huron  ;  about  midway  between,  they 
rush  tumultuously  down  a  steep  descent,  with  a  tremendous 
roar,  through  shattered  masses  of  rock,  filling  the  pure  air 
above  with  clouds  of  snowy  foam. 

Lake  Huron  is  the  next  in  succession  and  the  second  in 
magnitude  of  these  inland  seas.      The  outline  is  very  irreg- 

*  "  The  Pictured  Rocks  (.so  called  from  their  appearance)  are  sit- 
uated on  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  toward  the  east  end,  and  arc 
really  quite  a  natural  curiosity ;  they  form  a  perpendicular  wall  300 
feet  high,  extending  about  twelve  miles,  with  numerous  projections 
and  indentations  in  ever)'  variety  of  form,  and  vast  caverns,  in  which 
the  entering  waves  make  a  tremendous  sound.  The  Pictured  Rocks 
of  Lake  Superior  have  been  described  as  '  surprising  groups  of  over- 
hanging precipices,  towering  walls,  caverns,  waterfalls,  and  prostrate 
ruins,  which  arc  mingled  in  the  most  wonderful  disorder,  and  burst 
upon  the  view  in  ever-varying  and  pleasing  succession.'  Among  the 
more  remarkable  objects  are  the  Cascade  La  Portaillc  and  the  Doric 
Arch.  The  Cascade  consists  of  a  considerble  stream  precipitated 
from  a  height  of  70  feet  by  a  single  leap  into  the  lake,  and  juojected 
to  such  a  distance  that  a  boat  may  pass  beneath  the  fall  and  the  rock 
perfectly  dry.  The  Doric  Arch  has  all  the  appearance  of  a  work  of 
art,  and  consists  of  an  isolated  mass  of  sandstone,  with  four  pillars 
supporting  an  entablature  of  stone,  covered  with  soil,  and  a  beautiful 
grove  of  pine  and  sjjrucc  trees,  some  of  which  arc  60  feet  in  height." 
— Montgomery  ^Martin's  History  of  Canada,  vol.  i.,  p.  211. 

t  "  The  Thunder  Mountain  is  one  of  the  most  appalling  objects  of 
the  kind  that  I  have  ever  seen,  being  a  bleak  rock,  about  twelve  hund- 
red feet  above  the  level  of  the  lake,  with  a  perpendicular  face  of  its 
full  height  toward  the  west ;  the  Indians  have  a  superstition,  which 
one  can  hardly  repeat  without  becoming  giddy,  that  any  person  who 
may  .scale  the  eminence,  and  turn  round  on  the  brink  of  its  fearful 
wail,  will  iivc  forever."' — Simpson,  vol.  i.,  p.  33. 


THE  CONaUKST  OF  CANADA.  101 

ular,  to  the  north  and  east  Ibrmed  by  tlie  Canadian  terri- 
tory, to  the  southwest  by  that  of  the  United  States.  From 
where  the  Channel  of  St.  Mary  enters  this  lake  to  the  fur- 
thest extremity  is  240  miles,  the  greatest  breadth  is  220, 
the  circumference  about  1000  ;  the  surface  is  only  32  feet 
lower  than  that  of  Superior ;  in  depth  and  in  pure  trans- 
parency the  waters  of  this  lake  are  not  surpassed  by  its 
great  neighbor.  Parallel  to  the  north  shore  runs  a  long, 
narrow  peninsula  called  Cabot  Head,  which,  together  with 
a  chain  of  islands,  shuts  in  the  upper  waters  so  as  almost  to 
form  a  separate  and  distinct  lake.  The  Great  Manitoulin 
Island,  the  largest  of  this  chain,  is  seventy-five  miles  in 
length.  In  the  Indian  tongue  the  name  denotes  it  the 
abode  of  the  Great  Spirit,*  and  the  simple  savages  regard 
these  woody  shores  with  reverential  awe. 

To  the  north  and  west  of  Lake  Huron  the  shores  are 
generally  rugged  and  precipitous  ;  abrupt  heights  of  from 
30  to  100  feet  rise  from  the  water's  edge,  formed  of  clay, 
huge  stones,  steep  rocks,  and  wooded  acclivities  ;  further  in- 
land, the  peaks  of  the  Cloche  Mountains  ascend  to  a  con- 
siderable height.  To  the  east,  nature  presents  a  milder 
aspect ;  a  plain  of  great  extent  and  richness  stretches  away 
toward  the  St.  Lawrence.  Many  streams  pour  their  flood 
into  this  lake ;  the  principal  are  the  Maitland,  Severn,  Moon, 
and  French  Hivers ;  they  are  broad  and  deep,  but  their 
sources  lie  at  no  great  distance.  By  far  the  largest  supply 
of  water  comes  from  the  vast  basin,  of  Lake  Superior,  through 
the  Channel  of  St.  Mary.  Near  the  northwestern  extremi- 
ty of  Huron,  a  narrow  straitf  connects  it  with  Lake  Michi- 

*  '•  The  Indian  appellation  of  '  Sacred  Isles'  first  occurs  at  Lake 
Huron,  and  thence  westward  is  met  with  in  Superior,  Michigan,  and 
the  vast  and  numerous  lakes  of  the  interior.  Those  who  have  been 
in  Asia,  and  have  turned  their  attention  to  the  subject,  will  recognize 
the  resemblance  in  sound  between  the  North  American  Indian  and 
the  Tp.rtar  names." — Montgomery  Martin's  History  of  Canada,  vol. 
i.,  p.  117. 

t  '■  The  remarkable  post  of  Michillimackinack  is  a  beautiful  island 
or  great  rock,  planted  in  the  strait  of  the  same  name,  which  forms 
the  connection  between  Lakes  Huron  and  ^liehigan.  The  meaning 
of  the  Indian  word  Michillimackinack  is  Great  Turtle.  The  island  is 
crowned  with  a  cap  300  feet  above  the  surrounding  waters,  on  the 


102  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

gan  in  the  United  States  ;  there  is  a  slight  diflerence  of 
level  between  these  two  great  sheets  of  water,  and  a  current 
constantly  sets  into  the  southern  basin  :  this  lake  is  also 
remarkable  for  its  depth  and  transparency.* 

At  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  Huron,  its  overflow 
pours  through  a  river  about  thirty  miles  in  length  into  a 
small  lake  ;  both  lake  and  river  bear  the  name  of  St.  Clair. t 
Thence  the  waters  flow  on,  through  the  broad  but  shallow 
stream  of  the  Detroit,  until  they  fall  into  Lake  Erie  thirty 
miles  below ;  on  either  side,  the  banks  and  neighboring  dis- 
tricts are  rich  in  beauty  and  abundantly  fertile. 

Lake  Erie  is  shallow  and  dangerous,  the  anchorage  is 
bad,  the  harbors  few  and  inconvenient.  Long,  low  promon- 
tories project  for  a  considerable  distance  from  the  main  land, 
and  embarrass  the  navigation  ;  but  the  coasts,  both  on  the 
Canadian  and  American  side,  are  very  fertile. J     Lake  Erie 

top  of  which  is  a  fortification.  If  Quebec  is  the  Gibraltar  of  North 
America,  Mackinaw  (the  vulgar  appellation  for  this  fort)  is  only 
second  in  its  physical  character,  and  in  its  susceptibilities  of  improve- 
ment as  a  military  post.  It  is  also  a  most  important  position  for  the 
facilities  it  affords  in  the  fur  trade  between  New  York  and  the  North- 
west."'— Mr.  Colton's  American  Lakes,  vol.  i.,  p.  92. 

The  value  of  canals  and  steam  navigation  may  be  judged  of  from 
the  fact  that,  in  1812,  the  news  of  the  declaration  of  war  against 
Great  Britain  by  the  United  States  did  not  reach  the  post  of  ISIichil- 
limackinack  (1107  miles  from  Quebec)  in  a  shorter  time  than  two 
months ;  the  same  i)lacc  is  now  within  the  distance  of  ten  days' 
journey  from  the  Atlantic. 

*  "  So  clear  arc  the  waters  of  these  lakes,  that  a  white  najikin,  tied  to 
a  lead,  and  sunk  thirty  fathoms  beneath  a  smooth  surface,  may  be  seen  as 
distinctly  as  when  immersed  three  feet." — Colton,  vol.  i.,  *p.  93. 

t  "  The  St.  Clair  (according  to  Dr.  Bigsby)  is  the  only  river  of 
discharge  for  Lakes  Superior,  jMichigan,  and  Huron,  which  cover  a 
surface  of  thirty-eight  and  a  half  million  of  acres,  and  arc  fed  by 
numerous  large  rivers.  Other  able  observers  are  of  opinion  that  the 
Missouri  and  the  Mississippi  receive  some  of  the  waters  of  Superior 
and  Michigan.  Many  persons  think  that  a  subterraneous  communica- 
tion exists  between  all  the  great  lakes,  as  is  surmised  to  be  the  case 
between  the  Mediterranean  and  tlio  Euxine." — Montgomery  I\Iartin. 

t  "The  Lake  Eric  is  justly  dignified  by  the  illustrious  name  of 
Conti,  for  assuredly  it  is  the  finest  lake  upon  earth.  Its  circumference 
extends  to  230  leagues ;  but  it  afibrds  every  where  such  a  charming 
prospect,  that  its  banks  are  decked  with  oak-trees,  elms,  chcsnut- 
trees,  walnut-trees,   applc-trces,    plum-trees,   and  vines,  which    bear 


T[1E    CONaURST    OF    CAiVADA.  103 

is  about  2 Go  miles  long,  and  G3  wide  at  its  cfreatest  breadth  : 
the  circumference  is  calculated  at  658  miles  ;  its  surface 
lies  30  ieet  below  the  level  of  Lake  Huron.*  The  length 
of  the  lake  stretches  northeast,  almost  the  same  direction  as 
the  line  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence. 

The  Niagara  River  flows  from  the  northeastern  extremity 

their  fine  clusters  up  to  the  very  top  of  the  trees,  upon  a  sort  of 
ground  that  lies  as  smooth  as  one's  hand.  Such  ornaments  as  these 
are  sufficient  to  give  rise  to  the  most  agreeable  idea  of  a  landscape  in 
the  world." — La  Hontan,  in  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  .343  (1683). 

"  Le  nom  que  le  Lac  Erie  porte  est  celui  d'une  nation  de  la  langue 
Huronnc,  qui  etait  etablie'sur  ses  bords  et  que  les  L-oquois  ont 
entiiii-ement  detruite.  Erie  veut  dire  Chat,  et  les  Erics  sont  nommes 
dans  quelques  relations  la  nation  du  Chat.  Ce  nom  vient  apparem- 
ment  de  la  quantite  de  ces  animaux  qu'on  trouve  dans  le  pays. 
Quelques  cartes  raodernes  ont  donne  au  Lac  Erie  le  nom  de  Conti, 
mais  ce  nom  n'a  pas  fait  fortune,  non  plus  que  ceux  de  Conde,  de 
Tracy,  et  d'Orleans,  donnes  au  Lac  Huron,  au  Lac  Superieur,  et  au 
Lac  Michigan." — Charlevoix,  torn,  v.,  p.  374  (1721). 

*  "  In  extreme  depth  Lake  Erie  varies  from  forty  to  forty-five 
fathoms,  with  a  rocky  bottom.  Lakes  Superior  and  Huron  have  a 
stitf,  clayey  bottom,  mixed  with  shells.  Lake  Erie  is  reported  to  be 
the  only  one  of  the  series  in  which  any  current  is  perceptible.  Thf 
fact,  if  it  is  one,  is  usually  ascribed  to  its  shallowness ;  but  the  vast 
volume  of  its  outlet — the  Niagara  River — with  its  strong  current, 
is  a  much  more  probable  cause  than  the  small  depth  of  its  water, 
which  may  be  far  more  appropriately  adduced  as  the  reason  why  the 
navigation  is  obstructed  by  ice  much  more  than  either  of  the  other 
great  lakes.  As  connected  with  trade  and  navigation,  this  lake  is 
the  most  important  of  all  the  great  chain,  not  only  because  it  is 
bordered  by  older  settlements  than  any  of  them  except  Ontario,  but 
still  more  because  from  its  position  it  concentrates  the  trade  of  the 
vast  West.  The  Kingston  Herald  notices  a  most  extraordinary  oc- 
currence on  Lake  Erie  during  a  late  storm  (1836).  A  channel  was 
made  by  the  violence  of  the  tempest  through  Long  Point,  N.  Fore- 
land, 300  yards  wide,  and  from  11  to  15  feet  deep.  It  had  been  in 
contemplation  to  cut  a  canal  at  this  very  spot,  the  expenses  of  which 
Vi'ere  estimated  at  6612,000.  The  York  Courier  confirms  this  extra- 
ordinary intelligence,  stating  that  the  storm  made  a  breach  through 
the  point  near  the  main  land,  converted  the  peninsula  into  an  island, 
and  actually  made  a  canal  400  yards  wide,  and  eight  or  ten  feet  deej), 
almost  at  the  very  point  where  the  proposed  canal  was  to  be  cut, 
and  rendered  nothing  else  now  necessary  in  order  to  secure  a  safe 
channel  for  the  vessels,  and  a  good  harbor  on  both  sides,  than  the 
construction  of  a  pier  on  the  west  side,  to  prevent  the  channel  being 
fdled  up  with  sand." — Montgomery  Martin. 


104  THE  CONaUKPT  OF  CANADA. 

of  Lake  Erie  to  Lake  Ontario  in  a  course  of  33  miles,  with 
a  fall  of  not  less  than  334  feet.  About  twenty  miles  below 
Lake  Erie  is  the  grandest  sight  that  nature  has  laid  before 
the  human  eye — the  Falls  of  Niagara.  A  stream  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  deep  and  rapid,  plunges  over  a  rocky 
ledge  150  feet  in  height ;  about  two  thirds  of  the  distance 
across  from  the  Canadian  side  stands  Goat  Island,  covered 
with  stately  timber  :  four  times  as  great  a  body  of  water 
precipitates  itself  over  the  northern  or  Horse-shoe  Fall  as 
that  which  flows  over  the  American  portion.  Above  the 
cataract  the  river  becomes  very  rapid  and  tumultuous  in 
several  places,  particularly  at  the  Ferry  of  Black  Rock, 
where  it  rushes  past  at  the  rate  of  seven  miles  an  hour  ; 
within  the  last  mile  there  is  a  tremendous  indraught  to  the 
Falls.  The  shores  on  both  sides  of  the  Niagara  River  are 
of  unsurpassed  natural  fertility,  but  there  is  little  scenic 
beauty  around  to  divert  attention  from  the  one  object.  The 
simplicity  oi"  this  M'onder  adds  to  the  force  of  its  impression : 
no  other  sight  over  the  wide  world  so  fills  the  mind  with 
awe  and  admiration.  Description  may  convey  an  idea  of 
the  height  and  breadth* — the  vast  body  of  water t — the 

*  "  The  Horse-shoe  Cataract  on  the  British  side  is  the  largest  of 
the  Falls.  The  curvatures  have  been  geometrically  computed  at  700 
yards,  and  its  altitude,  taken  with  a  plumb-line  from  the  surface  of 
tlie  Table  Rock,  149  feet;  the  American  fall,  narrowed  by  Goat 
Island,  does  not  exceed  375  yards  in  curvilinear  length  (the  whole 
irregular  semicircle  is  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  mile),  its  perpen- 
dicular height  being  162  feet,  or  13  feet  higher  than  the  top  of  the 
Great  Fall,  adding  57  feet  for  the  fall.  The  rapids  thus  give  only  a 
total  of  219  feet,  which  is  less  than  many  other  falls;  but  their  mag- 
nificence consists  in  the  volume  of  the  water  precipitated  over  them, 
which  has  been  computed  at  2400  millions  of  tons  per  day,  102  mill- 
ions per  hour !  A  calculation  made  at  Quecnston,  below  the  Falls, 
is  as  follows  :  The  river  is  here  half  a  mile  broad;  it  averages  25 
feet  deep ;  current  three  miles  an  hour ;  in  one  hour  it  will  discharge 
a  cun-ent  of  water  three  miles  long,  half  a  mile  wide,  and  twenty-five 
feet  deep,  containing  1,111,400,000  cubic  feet,  being  18.524,000 
cubic  feet,  or  113,510,000  gallons  of  water  each  minute." — Mont- 
gomery Martin's  History  of  Canada. 

t  "The  total  area  of  the  four  great  lakes  which  pour  forth  their 
waters  to  the  ocean  over  the  Falls  of  Niagara  is  estimated  at  100,000 
.'•i)iiaro  miles.'' — Montgomerv  Martin. 


THE  CONaUEf'T  OF    CANADA.  105 

profound  abyss — the  dark  whirlpools — the  sheets  of  foam* 
— the  plumy  column  of  spray  f  rising  up  against  the  sky — 
the  dull,  deep  sound  that  throbs  through  the  earth,  and  fills 
the  air  for  miles  and  miles  with  its  unchanging  voiced — but 
of  the  magnitude  of  this  idea,  and  the  impression  stamped 
iipon  the  senses  by  the  reality,  it  is  vain  to  speak  to  those 
who  have  not  stood  beside  Niagara. 

The  descent  of  the  land  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  to 
those  of  Ontario  is  general  and  gradual,^  and  there  is  no 

*  Colonel  Bouchette  observes,  that,  according  to  the  altitude  of  the 
sun,  and  the  situation  of  the  spectator,  a  distinct  and  bright  iris  is 
seen  amid  the  revolving  eohmins  of  mist  that  soar  from  the  foaming 
chasm,  and  shroud  the  broad  front  of  the  gigantic  flood.  Both  arches 
of  the  bow  are  seldom  entirely  elicited,  but  the  interior  segment  is 
perl'ect,  and  its  prismatic  hues  are  extremely  glowing  and  vivid. 
The  fragments  of  a  plurality  of  rainbows  are  sometimes  to  be  seen  in 
various  parts  of  the  misty  curtain. 

t  Symptons  of  the  Falls  are  discerned  from  a  vast  distance.  From 
Buffalo,  twenty  miles  off,  two  small  fleecy  specks  are  distinctly  seen, 
appearing  and  disappearing  at  intervals.  These  are  the  clouds  of 
spray  arising  from  the  Falls;  it  is  even  asserted  that  they  have  been 
seen  from  Lake  Erie,  a  distance  of  fifty-four  miles. — Weld,  p.  374. 

t  The  sound  of  the  Falls  appears  to  have  been  heard  at  the  dis- 
tance of  twenty  or  even  forty  miles ;  but  these  effects  depend  much 
on  the  direction  of  the  wind,  and  the  tranquil  or  disturbed  state  of  the 
atmosphere.  Mr.  Weld  mentions  having  approached  the  Falls  within 
half  a  mile  without  hearing  any  sound,  while  the  spray  was  but  just 
discernible. — Weld,  p.  374. 

§  "  The  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  though  flat,  are  elevated  about  400 
feet  above  those  of  Lake  Ontario.  The  descent  takes  place  in  the 
short  interval  between  the  two  lakes  traversed  by  the  Niagara  Chan- 
nel. This  descent  is  partly  gradual,  producing  only  a  succession  of 
rapids.  It  is  at  Queenston,  about  seven  miles  below  the  present  site 
of  the  Falls,  that  a  range  of  hills  marks  the  descent  to  the  Ontario 
level.  Volney  conceives  it  certain  that  this  must  have  been  the  place 
down  which  the  river  originally  fell,  and  that  the  continued  and  violent 
action  of  its  waves  must  have  gradually  worn  away  the  rocks  beneath 
them,  and  in  the  course  of  ages  carried  the  Fall  back  to  its  present 
position,  from  which  it  continues  gi'adually  receding.  Mr.  Howison 
confirms  the  statement,  that,  in  the  memory  of  persons  now  living  in 
Upper  Canada,  a  considerable  change  has  been  observed.  The  whole 
course  of  the  river  downward  to  Queenston  is  through  a  deep  dell, 
bordered  by  broken  and  perpendicular  steep.s,  rudely  overhung  by 
trees  and  shrubs,  and  the  opposite  strata  of  which  correspond,  afford- 
ing thus  the  strongest  presumption  that  it  is  a  channel  hewn  out  by 


106  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

feature  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Falls  to  mark  its  locality. 
From  the  Erie  boundary  the  river  flows  smoothly  through  a 
level  but  elevated  plain,  branching  round  one  large  and 
some  smaller  islands.  Although  the  deep,  tremulous  sound 
of  Niagara  tells  of  its  vicinity,  there  is  no  unusual  appear- 
ance till  within  about  a  mile,  Avhen  the  waters  begin  to  rip- 
ple and  hasten  on  ;  a  little  further  it  dashes  down  a  mag- 
nificent rapid,  then  again  becomes  tranquil  and  glassy,  but 
glides  past  with  astonishing  swiftness.  There  are  number- 
less points  whence  the  fall  of  this  great  river  may  be  well 
seen  :  the  best  is  Table  Rock,  at  the  top  of  the  cataract ; 
the  most  wonderful  is  the  recess  between  the  falling  flood 
and  the  clifi'over  which  it  leaps. 

For  some  length  below  Niagara  the  waters  are  violently 
agitated  ;  however,  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile,  a  ferry 
plies  across  in  safety.  The  high  banks  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  extend  to  Queenston  and  Lewiston,  eight  miles  lower, 
confining  the  waters  to  a  channel  of  no  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  in  breadth,  between  steep  and  lofty  clifls  ;  mid- 
way is  the  whirlpool,*  where  the   current  rushes  fiirious- 

the  river  itself." — H.  Murray's  Historical  Description  of  America,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  466. 

"  It  is  now  considered  that  there  is  clear  geological  proof  that  the 
Fall  once  existed  at  Queenston.  The  710,000  tons  of  water  which 
each  minute  pour  over  the  precipice  of  the  Niagara,  are  estimated  to 
carry  away  a  foot  of  the  clifl"  every  year  ;  therefore  we  must  suppose 
a  period  of  20,000  years  occupied  in  the  recession  of  the  cataract  to 
its  present  site." — Lj-ell's  Geology. 

*  "The  mouth  of  the  whirlpool  is  more  than  1000  feet  wide,  and 
in  length  about  2000.  Mr.  Ilowison,  in  his  sketches  of  Upper  Canada, 
says  that  the  current  of  the  river  has  formed  a  circular  excavation  in 
the  high  and  perpendicular  banks,  resembling  a  bay.  The  current, 
which  is  extremely  rapid,  whenever  it  reaches  the  upper  point  of  this 
bay,  forsakes  the  direct  channel,  and  sweeps  wildly  round  the  sides  of 
it;  when,  having  made  this  extraordinary  circuit,  it  regains  its  proper 
course,  and  rushes  with  perturbed  vclociiy  between  two  perpendicular 
precipices,  which  are  not  more  than  400  feet  asunder.  The  surface 
uf  the  wliirlpool  is  in  a  state  of  continual  agitation.  The  water  boil.s, 
mantles  up,  and  wreaths  in  a  manner  that  proves  its  fearful  depth, 
and  the  confinement  it  siiflbrs ;  the  trees  that  come  within  the  sphere 
ol'  the  current  are  swept  along  with  a  cpiivcring,  zigzag  motion,  which 
it  is  uifficult  to  describe.  This  singular  body  of  water  must  be  .several 
iuuidrcd  feet  deep,  and  has  not  hitherto  been  frozen  over,  although  in 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  107 

ly  round  within  encircling  Jjeights.      Below  Queenston  the 
•river  again  rolls  along  a  soiooth  stream,  between  level  and 
cultivated  banks,  till  it  pours  its  waters  into  Lake  Ontario. 
Ontario  is  the  last*  and  the  most  easterly  of  the  chain  of 

spring  the  broken  ice  that  descends  from  Lake  Erie  descends  in  such 
quantities  upon  its  surface,  and  becomes  so  closely  wedged  together, 
that  it  resists  the  current,  and  remains  till  warm  weather  breaks  it  uj). 
The  whirlpool  is  one  of  the  greatest  natural  curiosities  in  the  Upper 
Province,  and  its  formation  can  not  be  rationally  accounted  for." — 
Martin's  History  of  Canada,  p.  139. 

*  "This  inland  sea,  though  the  smallest  of  the  great  chain  witli 
which  it  is  connected,  is  of  such  extent,  that  vessels  in  crossing  it  lose 
sight  of  land,  and  must  steer  their  way  by  the  compass  ;  and  the  swell 
is  often  equal  to  that  of  the  ocean.  During  the  winter,  the  northeast 
part  of  Ontario,  from  the  Bay  of  Quinte  to  Saeket's  Harbor,  is  frozen 
across ;  but  the  wider  part  of  the  lake  is  frozen  only  to  a  short  distance 
from  the  shore.  Lake  Erie  is  frozen  still  less ;  the  northern  parts  of 
Huron  and  Michigan  more ;  and  Superior  is  said  to  be  frozen  to  a 
distance  of  seventy  miles  from  its  coasts.  The  navigation  of  Ontario 
closes  in  October ;  ice-boats  are  sometimes  used  when  the  ice  is  glare 
(smooth).  One,  mentioned  by  Lieutenant  do  Roos,  was  twenty-three 
feet  in  length,  resting  on  three  skates  of  iron,  one  attached  to  each 
end  of  a  strong  cross-bar,  fixed  under  the  fore-feet,  the  remaining  one 
to  the  stern,  from  the  bottom  of  the  rudder ;  the  mast  and  sail  those 
of  a  common  boat :  when  brought  into  play  on  the  ice,  she  could  sail 
(if  it  may  be  .so  termed)  with  fearful  rapidity,  nearl}^  twenty-three 
miles  an  hour.  One  has  been  known  to  cross  from  Toronto  to  Fort 
George  or  Niagara,  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  in  little  more  than  throe 
quarters  of  an  hour ;  but,  in  addition  to  her  speed  before  the  wind,  she 
is  also  capable  of  beating  well  up  to  windward,  requiring,  however, 
an  experienced  hand  to  manage  her,  in  consequence  of  her  extreme 
sensibility  of  the  rudder  during  her  quick  motion." — Martin's  Histon/ 
of  Canada. 

"The  great  earthquake  that  destroyed  Lisbon  happened  on  the  Lst 
of  November,  1755,  and  on  Lake  Ontario  .strong  agitations  of  the  water 
were  observed  from  the  month  of  October,  1755." — LcUera  Rarissitna 
data  nelle  Indie  nella  Isola  di  Jamaica  a  7  Julio  del  1503  (Bassano, 
1810,  p.  29). 

"  From  some  submarine  center  in  the  Atlantic,  this  earthquake 
spread  one  enormous  convulsion  over  an  area  of  700,000  square  miles, 
agitating,  by  a  single  impulse,  the  lakes  of  Scotland  and  Sweden,  and 
the  islands  of  the  West  Indian  Sea.  Not,  however,  by  a  simultaneous 
shock,  for  the  element  of  time  comes  in  with  the  distance  of  undula- 
tion;  and,  together  with  this,  another  complexity  of  action  in  the 
transmission  of  earthquake  movements  through  the  sea,  arising  from 
the  different  rate  of  progression  at  different  depths.  In  the  fact  that 
the  wave  of  the  Lisbon  earthquake  reached  Plymouth  at  the  rate  of 


108  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

lakes.*  The  greatest  length  is  172  miles  ;  at  the  widest  it 
measures  59  miles  across  ;  the  circumference  is  467  miles, 
and  the  surface  is  334  feet  below  the  level  of  Lake  Erie. 
The  depth  of  Ontario  varies  very  much  along  the  coast, 
being  seldom  more  than  from  three  to  50  fathoms  ;  and  in 
the  center,  a  plummet,  with  300  fathoms  of  line,  has  been 
tried  in  vain  for  soundings.  A  sort  of  gravel,  small  pieces 
of  limestone,  worn  round  and  smooth  by  the  action  of  water, 
covers  the  shores,  lying  in  long  ridges  sometimes  miles  in 
extent.  The  waters,  like  those  of  the  other  great  lakes,  are 
very  pure  and  beautiful,  except  where  the  shallows  along 
the  margin  are  stirred  up  by  violent  winds  :  for  a  few  days 
in  June  a  yellow,  unwholesome  scum  covers  the  surface 
at  the  edge  every  year.  There  is  a  strange  phenomenon 
connected  with  Ontario,  unaccounted  for  by  scientific  specu- 
lation ;  each  seventh  year,  from  some  inscrutable  cause,  the 
waters  reach  to  an  unusual  height,  and  again  subside,  mys- 
teriously as  they  arose.  The  beautiful  illusion  of  the  mirage 
spreads  its  dreamy  enchantment  over  the  surface  of  Ontario 
in  the  summer  calms,  mixing  i-slands,  clouds,  and  waters  in 
strange  confusion.-} 

2  1  miles  per  minute,  and  Barbadoes  at  7'3  miles  per  minute,  there  is 
illustration  of  the  law  that  the  velocity  of  a  wave  is  proportional  to  the 
square  root  of  its  depth,  and  becomes  a  substitute  for  the  soundinor 
line  in  fixing  the  mean  proportional  depth  of  different  parts  of  this 
great  ocean. '■ — Humboldt. 

*  "  There  are  two  lakes  in  Lower  Canada,  Matapediac  and 
JVIemphrcmagog.  The  former  is  about  16  miles  long,  and  three 
broad  in  its  greatest  breadth,  about  21  miles  distant  from  the  St. 
Lawrence  River,  in  the  county  of  Rimouski ;  amid  the  islands  that 
separate  the  waters  running  into  the  St.  Lawrence  from  those  that 
run  to  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs,  it  is  navigable  for  rafts  of  all  kinds  of 
timber,  with  which  the  banks  of  the  noble  River  Matapediac  are 
thickly  covered.  IVIcmphremagog  Lake,  in  the  county  of  Staastead, 
strelchinf^  its  south  extremity  into  the  State  of  Vermont,  is  of  a  semi- 
circular shape,  30  miles  long,  and  very  narrow.  It  empties  itself  fnto 
the  fine  river  St.  Francis,  by  means  of  the  River  Magog,  which  runs 
tlirou<rh  Lake  Scaswaninepus.  The  JMemphremagog  Lake  is  said  to 
be  navigable  for  ships  of  500  tons  burden." — Martin's  History  of 
Canada,  p.  102. 

t  "  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  great  lakes  of  Upper  Canada 
are  liable  to  the  formation  of  the   Prester  or  water-spout,  and  that 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  109 

The  outline  of  the  shores  is  much  diversified  :  to  the 
northeast  lie  low  lands  and  swampy  marshes  ;  to  the  north 
and  northeast  extends  a  bold  range  of  elevated  grounds  ; 
southward  the  coast  becomes  again  flat  for  some  distance 
inland,  till  it  rises  into  the  ridge  of  heights  that  marks  the 
position  of  Niagara.  The  country  bordering  the  lake  is 
generally  rich  and  productive,  and  was  originally  covered 
with  forest.  A  ridge  of  lofty  land  runs  from  the  beautiful 
Bay  of  Quinte,  on  the  northwest  of  the  lake,  westward  along 
the  shore,  at  a  distance  of  nine  or  more  miles  :  from  these 
heights  innumerable  streams  flow  into  Ontario  on  one  side, 
and  into  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  back  country  on  the 
other.  At  Toronto  the  ridge  recedes  to  the  distance  of 
twenty-four  miles  northeast  from  the  lake,  separating  the 
tributary  v.^aters  of  Lakes  Huron  and  Ontario  ;  thence  merg- 
ing in  the  Burlington  Heights,  it  continues  along  the  south- 
west side  from  four  to  eight  miles  distant  from  the  shore  to 
the  high  grounds  about  Niagara. 

Besides  the  great  stream  of  Niagara,  many  rivers  flow 
into  Ontario  both  on  the  Canadian  and  American  sides. 
The  bays  and  harbors  are  also  very  numerous,  affording 
great  facilities  for  navigation  and  commerce  :  in  this  respect 
the  northern  shore  is  the  most  favored — the  Bays  of  Quinte 
and  Burlington  are  especially  remarkable  for  their  extent 
and  security.* 

several  instances  are  recorded  of  the  occurrence  of  that  truly  extraor- 
dinary phenomenon,  the  theory  of  which,  however,  is  well  known. 
Whether  electricity  be  a  cause  or  a  consequence  of  this  formidable 
meteor,  appears,  nevertheless,  to  be  a  question  of  some  doubt  among 
natural  philosophers ;  Gassendi  being  disposed  to  favor  the  former 
opinion,  while  Cavallo  espouses  the  latter." — Bouchette's  Topographi- 
cal and  Statistical  Description  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  vol.  i.,  p. 
346. 

*  •'  The  most  considerable  harbors  on  the  English  side  ai-e  Toronto 
(York,  the  former  name,  has  recently  been  changed  to  the  Indian  name 
of  the  place,  Toronto)  and  Kingston.  Toronto  is  situated  near  the  head 
of  Lake  Ontario,  on  the  north  side  of  an  excellent  harbor  or  elliptical 
basin,  of  an  area  of  eight  or  nine  miles,  formed  by  a  long,  low,  sandy 
peninsula  or  island,  stretching  from  the  land  east  of  the  town  to  Gibraltar 
Point,  abreast  of  a  good  fort.  The  town  of  Toronto,  at  that  period 
York,  was  twice  captured  by  the  Americans,  in  April  and  August, 
1813,  owing  to  its  defenseless  state,  and  a  large  ship  of  war  on  the 


110  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

The  northeast  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  where  its  waters 
pour  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  is  a  scene  of  striking  beauty  ;  * 
numerous  wooded  islands,  in  endless  variety  of  form  and 
extent,  divide  the  entrance  of  the  Great  Kiverf  into  a  lab- 
stocks  burned.  The  Americans  wonld  not  now  find  its  capture  such 
an  ea-sy  task.  Little  more  than  Ibrty  years  ago,  the  site  whereon 
Toronto  now  stands,  and  the  whole  country  to  the  north  and  west  ol' 
it,  was  a  perfect  wilderness;  Ihc  land  is  now  fast  clearing — thickly 
settled  bv  a  robust  and  industrious  European-descended  population, 
blessed  with  health  and  competence,  and  on  all  sides  indicating  the 
rapid  progress  of  civilization.  The  other  British  town  of  importance 
on  this  shore  is  Kingston,  formerly  Cataraqui  or  Frontenac,  distant 
from  Toronto  184  miles,  and  from  Montreal  180  miles.  It  is,  next  to 
Quebe3  and  Halifax,  the  strongest  British  post  in  America,  and,  next 
to  Quebec  and  Montreal,  the  first  in  commercial  importance.  It  is 
advantageously  situate  on  the  north  bank  of  Lake  Ontario,  at  the  head 
of  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  and  is  separated  from  Points  Frederic  and 
Henry  by  a  bay,  which  extends  a  considerable  distance  to  the  north- 
west beyond  the  town,  where  it  receives  the  water  of  a  river  flowing 
from  the  interior.  Point  Frederic  is  a  long,  narrow  peninsula,  extend- 
ing about  half  a  mile  into  the  lake,  distant  from  Kingston  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  on  the  opposite  side  of  its  bay.  This  peninsula 
forms  the  west  side  of  a  narrow  and  deep  inlet  called  Navy  Baj',  from 
its  being  our  chief  naval  depot  on  Lake  Ontario." — Martin's  History 
of  Canada. 

*  "  The  channel  of  the  St.  Lawrence  is  here  so  spacious  that  it  is 
called  the  Lake  of  the  Thousand  Islands.  The  vast  number  implied  in 
this  name  was  considered  a  vague  exaggeration,  till  the  commissioners 
employed  in  fixing  the  boundary  with  the  United  States  actually  counted 
them,  and  found  that  they  amounted  to  1692.  They  are  of  every 
imaginable  size,  shape,  and  appearance ;  some  barcl}'  visible,  others 
covering  fifteen  acres ;  but,  in  general,  their  broken  outline  presents 
the  most  picturesque  combinations  of  wood  and  rock.  The  navigator, 
in  steering  through  them,  sees  an  ever-changing  scene  :  sometimes  he 
is  inclosed  in  a  narrow  channel ;  then  he  discovers  before  him  twelve 
openings,  like  so  many  noble  rivers  j  and,  soon  after,  a  spacious  lake 
seems  to  surround  him  on  every  side." — Bouchette,  vol.  i.,  p.  156; 
Howi.son's  Sketches  of  Canada,  p.  46. 

t  "  The  St.  Lawrence  traverses  the  whole  extent  of  Lower  Canada, 
as  the  lakes  every  where  border  and  inclose  Upper  Canada.  There 
is  a  difiiculty  in  tracing  its  origin,  or,  at  least,  which  of  the  tributaries 
of  Lake  Superior  is  to  be  called  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  strongest  claim 
seems  to  be  made  by  the  series  of  channels  which  connect  all  the  great 
upper  lakes,  though,  strictly  speaking,  till  after  the  Ontario,  there  is 
notiiing  which  can  very  properly  bo  called  a  river.  There  are  only  a 
number  of  short  canals  connecting  the  diflcrcnt  lakes,  or,  rather,  sep- 
aralinu  one  immense  lake  into  a  number  of  great  branches.     It  seems 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  Ill 

yriiith  of  tortuous  channels,  for  twelve  miles  in  breadth 
from  shore  to  shore  :  this  width  gradually  decreases  as  the 
stream  flows  on  to  Prescot,  fifty  miles  below  ;  a  short  dis- 
tance beyond  that  town  the  rapids  commence,*  and  thence 
to  Montreal  the  navigation  is  interrupted  for  vessels  of  burden  ; 
boats,  rafts,  and  small  steamers,  however,  constantly  descend 
these  tumultuous  waters,  and  not  unfrequently  are  lost  in  the 
dangerous  attempt.  The  most  beautiful  and  formidable  of 
these  rapids  is  cdlled  the  Cedars,  from  the  rich  groves  of  that 
fragrant  tree  covering  numerous  and  intricate  islands,  which 
distort  the  rushing  stream  into  narrow  and  perilous  channels  : 
the  water  is  not  more  than  ten  feet  deep  in  some  places,  and 
flows  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour.      The  river  there 

an  interesting  question  how  this  northern  center  of  the  eontinent,  at  the 
precise  latitude  of  about  SO"^,  should  pour  forth  so  immense  and  over- 
whelming a  mass  of  waters ;  for  through  a  great  part  of  its  extent  it 
is  quite  a  dead  flat,  though  the  Winnepog,  indeed,  draws  some  tribu- 
taries from  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  thick  forests  with  which  the 
surface  is  covered,  the  slender  evaporation  which  takes  place  during 
the  long  continuance  of  cold,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  thorough 
melting  of  the  snows  by  the  strong  summer  heat,  seem  to  be  the  chief 
sources  of  this  profuse  and  superabundant  moisture." — H.  Murray's 
Historical  Account  of  Discoveries  and  Travels  in  North  America,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  459,  1829. 

*  "  The  statements  laid  before  Parliament  thus  enumerate  and  de- 
scribe the  five  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which  are  impassable  by 
steam,  and  occur  between  Montreal  and  King.ston,  a  distance,  by  the 
St.  Lawrence  River,  of  171  miles,  and  by  the  Rideau  Canal,  267  miles. 
The  rapids  vary  in  rapidity,  intricacy,  depth  and  width  of  channel,  and 
in  extent,  from  half  a  mile  to  nine  miles.  The  Cedar  Rapid,  twenty- 
four  miles  from  La  Chine,  is  nine  miles  long,  very  intricate,  running 
from  nine  to  twelve  miles  an  hour,  and  in  some  places  only  from  nine 
to  ten  feet  water  in  the  channel.  The  Coteau  du  Lac  Rapid,  six  miles 
above  the  former,  is  two  miles  long,  equally  intricate  in  channel,  and 
in  some  places  only  sixteen  feet  wide.  Long  Sault,  forty-five  imiles 
above  the  preceding,  is  nine  or  ten  miles  long,  with  generally  the  same 
depth  of  water  throughout.  It  is  intersected  by  several  islands,  through 
whose  channels  the  water  rushes  with  great  velocity,  so  that  boats  are 
carried  through  it,  or  on  it,  at  the  rate  of  twenty-seven  miles  an  hour ; 
at  the  foot  of  the  rapid  the  water  takes  a  sudden  leap  over  a  slight 
precipice,  whence  its  name.  From  the  Long  Sault  to  Prescot  is  forty- 
one  miles  shoal  water,  running  from  six  to  eight  miles  an  hour,  and 
impassable  by  steamboats.  Then  the  Rapid  du  PJas,  half  a  mile  long, 
and  Rapid  Galoose,  one  and  half  a  mile  long,  intervene." 


112  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

widens  into  Lake  St.  Francis,  and  again  into  Lake  St.  Louis, 
which  drains  a  large  branch  of"  the  Ottawa  at  its  south- 
western extremity.  The  water  of  this  great  tributary  is 
remarkably  clear  and  of  a  bright  emerald  color  ;  that  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  at  this  junction  is  muddy,  from  having  passed 
over  deep  beds  of  marl  for  several  miles  above  its  entrance 
to  Lake  St.  Louis  :  for  some  distance  down  the  lake  the 
different  streams  can  be  plainly  distinguished  from  eacli 
other.  From  the  confluence  of  the  first  branches  above 
Montreal  these  two  great  rivers  seem  bewildered  among  the 
numerous  and  beautiful  islands,  and,  hurrying  past  in  strong 
rapids,  only  find  rest  again  in  the  broad,  deep  waters  many 
miles  below. 

The  furthest  sources  of  the  Ottawa  River  are  unknown.* 
It  rises  to  importance  at  the  outlet  from  Lake  Temiscaming, 


*  "According  to  Mr.  M'Grcgor  {Brit.  Jmer.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  ,525),  iho 
Ottawa,  or  Grand  River,  is  said  to  have  its  source  near  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  to  traverse  in  its  windings  a  distance  of  2500  miles. 
The  more  sober  statement  of  Bouchette  attributes  to  the  Ottawa  a 
course  of  about  450  miles  before  joining  the  St.  Lawrence.'' — Bou- 
chette, vol.  i.,  p.  187. 

'■  A  tremendous  scene  is  presented  at  the  eastern  part  of  Lake  St. 
Louis,  where  the  St.  Lawrence  and  its  grand  tributarj',  the  Ottawa, 
rush  down  at  once  and  meet  in  dreadful  conflict.  The  swell  is  then 
equal  to  that  produced  by  a  high  gale  in  the  British  Channel,  and  the 
breakers  so  numerous,  that  all  the  skill  of  the  boatmen  is  required  to 
steer  their  way.  The  Canadian  boatmen,  however,  are  among  the 
most  active  and  hardy  races  in  the  world,  and  they  have  boats  ex- 
pressly constructed  for  the  navigation  of  these  perilous  channels.  The 
largest  of  these,  called,  it  is  not  known  why,  the  Durham  boat,  is  used 
both  here  and  in  the  rapids  of  the  Mohawk.  It  is  long,  shallow,  and 
nearly  flat-bottomed.  The  chief  instrument  of  steerage  is  a  pole  ten 
feet  long,  shod  with  iron,  and  ero.ssed  at  short  inters'als  with  small  bars 
of  wood  like  the  feet  of  a  ladder.  The  men  place  themselves  at  the 
bow,  two  on  each  side,  thrust  their  poles  into  the  channel,  and  grasp- 
ing successively  the  wooden  bars,  work  their  way  toward  the  stern, 
thus  pushing  on  the  vessel  in  that  direction.  At  other  times,  by  the 
brisk  and  vigorous  use  of  the  oar,  they  catch  and  dash  through  the 
most  favorable  lines  of  current.  In  this  exhausting  struggle,  however, 
it  is  needful  to  have  frequent  pauses  for  rest,  and  in  the  most  diflicult 
j)assages  there  are  certain  positions  fixed  for  this  purpose,  which  the 
Canadians  call  pipes.'''' — H.  Murray's  Hist.  Dcscr.  of  jitnerica,  vol.  ii., 
p.  n.'i. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA,  113 

350  miles  west  of  its  junction  with  the  St.  Lawrence.* 
Beyond  the  Falls  and  Portage  des  AUumettes,  110  miles 
above  Hull,  this  stream  has  been  little  explored.  There  it 
is  divided  into  two  channels  by  a  large  island  fifteen  miles 
long  :  the  southernmost  of  these  expands  into  the  width  of 
four  or  five  miles,  and  communicates  by  a  branch  of  the 
river  with  the  Mud  and  Musk  Rat  Lakes.  Twelve  miles 
further  south  the  river  again  forms  two  branches,  including 
an  extensive  and  beautiful  island  twenty  miles  in  length  ; 
numerous  rapids  and  cascades  diversify  this  "v^ald  but  lovely 
scene  ;  thence  to  the  foot  of  the  Chenaux,  wooded  islands  in 
picturesque  variety  deck  the  bosom  of  the  stream,  and  the 
bright  blue  waters  here  wind  their  way  for  three  miles 
through  a  channel  of  pure  white  marble.  Nature  has  be- 
stowed abundant  fertility  as  well  as  beauty  upon  this  favored 
district.  The  Gatineau  River  joins  the  Ottawa  near  Hull, 
after  a  course  of  great  length.  This  stream  is  navigated  by 
canoes  for  more  than  300  miles,  traversing  an  immense  val- 
ley of  rich  soil  and  picturesque  scenery. 

At  the  foot  of  the  Chenaux  the  magnificent  Lake  des 

*  "From  the  sea  to  ^Montreal,  this  superb  river  is  called  the  St. 
Lawrence ;  from  thence  to  Kingston,  in  Upper  Canada,  the  Cataraqni 
or  Iroquois ;  between  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  the  Niagara ;  between 
Lakes  Erie  and  St.  Clair,  the  Detroit :  between  Lakes  St.  Clair  and 
Huron,  the  St.  Clair;  and  between  Lakes  Huron  and  Superior,  the 
distance  is  called  the  Narrows,  or  Falls  of  St.  Mary.  The  St.  Lawrence 
discharges  to  the  ocean  annuall)'  about  4,277,880  millions  of  tons  of 
fresh  water,  of  which  2,112,120  millions  of  tons  may  be  reckoned 
melted  snow ;  the  quantity  discharged  before  the  thaw  comes  on,  being 
45]  2  millions  of  tons  per  day  for  240  days,  and  the  quantity  after  the  thaw 
begins,  being  25,560  millions  per  day  for  125  days,  the  depths  and 
velocity  when  in  and  out  of  flood  being  dul}^  considered  :  hence  a  ton 
of  water  being  nearly  equal  to  55  cubic  yards  of  pure  snow,  the  St. 
Lawrence  frees  a  country  of  more  than  2000  miles  square,  covered  to 
the  depth  of  three  feet.  The  embouchure  of  this  first-class  stream  is 
that  part  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  where  the  island  of  Anticosti 
divides  the  mouth  of  the  river  into  two  branches.  According  to  ]Mr. 
M'Taggart,  a  shrewd  and  humorous  writer,  the  solid  contents  in  cubic 
feet  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  embracing  Lakes  Superior,  Huron,  Michigan, 
Erie,  and  Ontario,  is  estimated  at  1,547,792.360,000  cubic  feet,  and 
the  superficial  area  being  72,930  square  miles,  the  water  therein  would 
form  a  cubic  column  of  nearly  22  miles  on  each  side  !" — Montgomery 
JMartin's  History  of  Canada. 


114'  THE    COXaUEST    OF    CANADA. 

Chats  opens  to  view,  in  length  about  fifteen  miles ;  the 
shores  are  strangely  indented,  and  numbers  of  wooded  islands 
stud  the  surface  of  the  clear  waters.  At  the  foot  of  the  lake 
there  are  falls  and  rapids  ;*  thence  to  Lake  Chaudiere,  a 
distance  of  six  miles,  the  channel  narrows,  but  expands  again 
to  form  that  beautiful  and  extensive  basin.  Rapids  again 
succeed,  and  continue  to  the  Chaudiere  Falls.  The  boiling 
pool  into  which  these  waters  descend  is  of  great  depth  :  the 
sounding-line  does  not  reach  the  bottom  at  the  length  of  300 
feet.  It  is  supposed  that  the  main  body  of  the  river  flows 
by  a  subterraneous  passage,  and  rises  again  half  a  mile  lower 
down.  Below  the  Chaudiere  Falls  the  navigation  is  unin- 
terrupted to  Grenville,  sixty  miles  distant.  The  current  is 
scarcely  perceptible  ;  the  banks  are  low,  and  generally  over- 
flowed in  the  spring ;  but  the  varjnng  breadth  of  the  river, 
the  numerous  islands,  the  magnificent  forests,  and  the  crystal 
purity  of  the  waters,  lend  a  charm  to  the  somewhat  monot- 
onous beauty  of  the  scene.  At  Grenville  commences  the 
Long  Sault,  a  swift  and  dangerous  rapid,  which  continues 
with  intervals  till  it  falls  into  the  still  Lake  of  the  Two 
Mountains.  Below  the  heights  from  whence  this  sheet  of 
water  derives  its  name,  the  well-known  Pi-apids  of  St.  Anne's 
discharge  the  main  stream  into  the  waters  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, t 

Below  the  island  of  jMontreal  the  St.  Lawrence  continues, 
in  varying  breadth  and  considerable  depth,  to  Sorel,  where 
it  is  joined  by  the  Richelieu  River  from  the  south  ;  thence 
opens  the  expanse  of  Lake  St.  Peter,  shallow  and  uninterest- 
ing ;  after  twenty-five  miles  the  Great  River  contracts  again, 
receives  in  its  course  the  waters  of  the  St.  Maurice,  and 
other   large  streams;    and    180   miles   below  Montreal  the 

*  "  Kinncl  Lodfre,  the  residence  of  the  celebrated  Highland  chieftain 
M'Nab,  is  romantically  situated  on  the  south  bank  of  the  lake,  about 
five  miles  above  the  head  of  the  Chats  Rapids,  which  are  three  miles 
long,  and  pass  amid  a  labyrinth  of  varied  islands,  until  the  waters  of 
the  Ottawa  are  suddenly  precipitated  over  the  Falls  of  the  Chats, 
which,  to  the  number  of  fifteen  or  sixteen,  form  a  curved  line  across 
the  river,  regularly  divided  by  woody  islands,  the  falls  being  in  dejUh 
from  sixteen  to  twenty  feet." — M.  Martin's  History  of  Canada. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  XIX. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  115 

vast  flood  pours  through  the  narrow  chauuel  that  hes  under 
the  shadow  of  Quebec*  Below  this  strait  hes  a  deep  basin, 
nearly  four  miles  wide,  formed  by  the  head  of  the  Island  of 
Orleans :  the  main  channel  continues  by  the  south  shore.  It 
would  be  M^earisome  to  tell  of  all  the  numerous  and  beautiful 
islands  that  deck  the  bosom  of  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Quebec 
to  the  Gulf  The  river  gradually  expands  till  it  reaches  a 
considerable  breadth  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay.  There 
is  a  dark  shade  for  many  miles  below  where  this  great  tribu- 
tary pours  its  gloomy  flood  into  the  pure  waters  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  :  120  miles  westward  it  flows  from  a  large,  cir- 
cular sheet  of  water,  called  Lake  St.  John  ;  but  the  farthest 
sources  lie  in  the  unknown  regions  of  the  west  and  north. 
For  about  half  its  course,  from  the  lake  to  Tadoussac  at  the 
mouth,  the  banks  are  rich  and  fertile  ;  but  thence  clifl's  rise 
abruptly  out  of  the  water  to  a  lofty  height — sometimes  2000 
feet — and  two  or  three  miles  apart.  The  depth  of  the 
Saguenay  is  very  great,  and  the  surrounding  scenery  is  of  a 
magnificent  but  desolate  character. 

Below  the  entrance  of  the  Saguenay  the  St.  Lawrence 
increases  to  twenty  miles  across,  at  the  Bay  of  Seven  Islands 
to  seventy,  at  the  head  of  the  large  and  unexplored  island  of 
Anticosti  to  ninety,  and  at  the  point  where  it  may  be  said  to 
enter  the  Gulf  between  Gaspe  and  the  Labrador  coast,  reaches 
the  enormous  breadth  of  120  miles.  In  mid-channel  both 
coasts  can  be  seen  ;  the  mountains  on  the  north  shore  rise  to 
a  great  height  in  a  continuous  range,  their  peaks  capped  with 
eternal  snows. 

Having  traced  this  vast  chain  of  water  communication 
from  its  remotest  links,  it  is  now  time  to  speak  of  the  mag- 

*  "At  Quebec,  the  River  St.  Lawrence  narrows  to  1314  yards; 
yet  the  navigation  is  completely  unobstructed,  while  there  is  formed 
near  the  city  a  capacious  harbor.  About  twenty-one  miles  lower,  its 
waters,  beginning  to  mingle  with  those  of  the  sea,  acquire  a  saline 
taste,  which  increases  till,  at  Kamauraska,  seventy-five  miles  nearer 
its  mouth,  they  become  completely  salt.  Yet  custom,  with  somewhat 
do'ibiful  propriety,  considers  the  river  as  continued  down  to  the  island 
of  Anticosti,  and  bounded  by  Cape  Rosier  on  the  southei'n,  and  Mingau 
settlement  on  the  northern  shore." — Bouchette's  Top.  and  Slat.  Descr. 
of  Canada,  vol.  i.,  p.  164-169. 


116  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

nificent  territory  which  it  opens  to  the  commerce  and  enter- 
prise of  civihzed  man. 

Upper  or  Western  Canada*  is  marked  ofl"  from  the  eastern 
province  by  the  natural  boundary  of  the  OttaAva  or  Grand 
River.  It  consists  almost  throughout  of  one  uniform  plain. 
In  all  those  districts  hitherto  settled  or  explored,  there  is 
scarcely  a  single  eminence  that  can  be  called  a  hill,  although 
traversed  by  two  wide  ridges,  rising  above  the  usual  level 
of  the  country.  The  greater  of  these  elevations  passes  through 
nearly  the  whole  extent  of  the  province  from  southeast  to 
northwest,  separating  the  waters  falling  into  the  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  great  lakes  from  those  tributary  to  the  Ottawa : 
the  highest  point  is  forty  miles  north  of  Kingston,  being  also 
the  most  elevated  level  on  that  magnificent  modern  work, 
the  Rideau  Canal  ;t  it  is  290  feet  above  the  Ottawa  at 
Bytown,  and  160  feet  higher  than  the  surface  of  Lake  On- 
tario. Toward  these  waters  the  plain  descends  at  the  gradient 
of  about  four  I'eet  in  the  mile  ;  this  declivity  is  imperceptible 
to  the  eye,  and  is  varied  by  gently  undulating  slopes  and  in- 
equalities. Beyond  the  broad,  rich  valley  lying  to  the  north 
of  this  elevation  there  is  a  rocky  and  mountainous  country  ; 
still  farther  north  are  seen  snow-covered  peaks  of  a  great  but 
unknowni  height ;  thence  to  the  pole  extends  the  dreary 
region  of  the  Hudson  Bay  territory. 

The  lesser  elevation  begins  near  the  eastern  extremity  of 
Ontario,  and  runs  almost  parallel  with  the  shores  of  the  lake 
to  a  point  about  twenty-four  miles  northwest  from  Toronto, 
where  it  separates  the  streams  flowing  into  Lakes  Huron 
and  Ontario  :  it  then  passes  southeast  between  Lakes  Erie 
and  Ontario,  and  terminates  on  the  Genesee  in  the  United 
States.  This  has  a  more  perceptible  elevation  than  the 
southern  ridge,  and  in  some  places  rises  into  bold  heights. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XX. 

t  "The  Falls  of  the  Rideau  are  about  fifty  feet  in  heinjiit  and  300 
in  breadth,  being,  at  the  time  we  saw  them,  more  magnificent  than 
usual,  by  reason  of  the  high  state  of  the  waters.  It  is  from  their  re- 
.semblance  to  a  curtain  that  they  are  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
Jlideau.  and  they  also  give  this  name  to  the  river  that  feeds  them, 
wliioh  again  lends  the  same  appellation  to  the  canal  that  connects  tha 
Ottawa  witli  Lake  Ontario.'' — Simpson,  vol.  i.,  p.  16. 


THE  COXaUEST  OF  CAXADA,  117 

The  only  portion  of  the  vast  plain  of  Western  Canada 
surveyed  or  effectually  explored  is  included  by  a  line  dra-wn 
from  the  eastern  coast  of  Lake  Huron  to  the  Ottawa  River, 
and  the  northern  shores  of  the  great  chain  of  lake  and  river ; 
this  is,  however,  nearly  as  large  as  the  whole  of  England. 

The  natural  features  of  Lower  or  Eastern  Canada  arc 
unsurpassed  by  those  of  any  other  country  in  grace  and 
variety  :  rivers,  lakes,  mountains,  forests,  prairies,  and  cata- 
racts are  grouped  together  in  endless  combinations  of  beauty 
and  magnificence.  The  eastern  districts,  beginning  with  the 
bold  sea-coast  and  broad  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  are 
high,  mountainous,  and  clothed  with  dark  forests  on  both 
sides,  down  to  the  very  margin  of  the  river.  To  the  north, 
a  lofty  and  rugged  range  of  heights  runs  parallel  with,  the 
shore  as  far  westward  as  Quebec  ;  thence  it  bends  west  and 
southwest  to  the  banks  of  the  Ottawa.  To  the  south,  the 
elevated  ridge,  where  it  reaches  within  sixty  miles  of  Quebec, 
turns  from  the  parallel  of  the  St.  Lawrence  southwest  and 
south  into  the  United  States ;  this  ridge,  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Alleganies,  rises  abruptly  out  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence at  Perce,  between  the  Baye  de  Chaleur  and  Gaspe 
Cape,  and  is  more  distant  from  the  Great  River  than  that 
upon  the  northern  shore.  Where  the  Alleganies  enter  the 
United  States  they  divide  the  plains  of  the  Atlantic  coast 
from  the  basin  of  the  Ohio ;  their  greatest  height  is  about 
4000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  Valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  lying  between  these  two 
ranges  of  heights,  is  marked  by  great  diversities  of  hill,  plain, 
and  valley.  Both  from  the  north  and  south  numerous  rivers 
pour  their  tributary  flood  into  the  great  waters  of  Canada  ; 
of  those  eastward  of  the  Saguenay  little  is  known  beyond 
their  entrance ;  they  flow  through  clifis  of  light-colored  sand, 
rocky,  wooded  knolls,  or,  in  some  places,  deep,  swampy 
moss-beds  nearly  three  feet  in  depth.  From  the  Saguenay 
to  Quebec  the  mountain  ridge  along  the  shore  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  is  unbroken,  save  where  streams  find  their  way 
to  the  Great  River,  but  beyond  this  coast-border  the  country 
is  in  some  places  level,  in  others  undulating,  with  hills  of 
moderate  height,  and  well-watered  valleys.     From  Quebec 


118  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

Avestwaid  to  the  St.  Maurice,  which  joins  the  St.  Lawrence 
at  Three  Rivers,  the  land  rises  in  a  gentle  ascent  from  the 
banks  of  the  Great  River,  and  presents  a  rich  tract  of  fertile 
plains  and  slopes  :  in  the  distance,  a  loity  chain  of  mount- 
ain? protects  this  favored  district  from  the  bitter  northern 
blast.  Along  the  north  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  the 
St.  Maurice,  the  country  toward  the  Ottawa  is  slightly  e\ei 
vated  into  table  ridges,  with  occasional  abrupt  declivities  and 
some  extensive  plains.  In  this  portion  of  Canada  are  in- 
cluded the  islands  of  Montreal,  Jesus,  and  Perrot,  formed  by 
the  various  branches  of  the  Great  River  and  the  Ottawa, 
where  their  waters  unite.  Montreal  is  the  largest  and  most 
fertile  of  these  islands  ;  its  length  is  thirty-two  »niles  and 
breadth  ten  ;  the  general  shape  is  triangular.  Isle  Jesus  is 
twenty-one  miles  by  six  in  extent,  and  also  very  rich ;  there 
are,  besides,  several  other  smaller  islands  of  considerable  fer- 
tility. Isle  Perrot  is  poor  and  sandy.  The  remote  country 
to  the  north  of  the  Ottawa  is  but  little  known. 

On  the  south  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  peninsula  of 
Gaspo  is  the  most  eastern  district ;  this  large  tract  of  coun- 
try has  been  very  little  explored  :  so  far  as  it  has  been  ex- 
amined, it  is  uneven,  mountainous,  and  intersected  with  deep 
ravines  ;  but  the  forests,  rivers,  and  lakes  are  very  fine,  and 
the  valleys  fertile.  The  sea-beach  is  low  and  hard,*  an- 
swering the  purposes  of  a  road  ;  at  the  Cape  of  Gaspe,  how- 
ever, there  are  some  bold  and  lofty  cliffs.  Behind  the  beach 
the  land  rises  into  high,  round  hills,  well  wooded  ;  sheltered 
from  the  Gaspe  district  to  the  Chaudiere  Pwiver,  the  country 
is  not  so  stern  as  on  the  northern  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence ; 
though  somewhat  hilly,  it  abounds  in  large  and  fertile  valleys. 
The  immediate  shores  of  the  river  are  flat ;  thence  irregular 
ridges  arise,  till  they  reach  an  elevated  table-land  fifteen  or 

*  Modern  alluvial  accumulations  arc  rapidly  increasing  on  some 
points  of  this  coast,  owini^  to  the  enormous  mass  of  fresh  water, 
charged  with  earthy  matter,  that  here  min^^lcs  with  the  sea.  The 
surface  of  the  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  where  the 
depth  is  100  fathoms,  is  stated  by  Bayfield  to  be  turbid  from  this 
cause:  yet  that  this  discoloi  at  ion  is  superficial  is  evident,  for  in  the  wake 
of  a  ship  moving  through  the  turbid  surface,  the  clear  blue  waters  o£ 
the  sea  arc  seen  below. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  119 

twenty  miles  from  the  beach.  From  the  Chaudiere  River 
westward  extends  that  rich  and  vakiable  comitry  now  known 
by  the  name  of  the  Eastern  Townships.  At  the  mouth  of 
the  Chaudiere  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  are  bold  and 
lofty,  but  they  gradually  lower  to  the  westward  till  they 
sink  into  the  flats  of  Bayo  du  Febre,  and  form  the  marshy 
shores  of  Lake  St.  Peter,  whence  a  rich  plain  extends  to  a 
great  distance.  This  district  contains  several  high,  isolated 
mountains,  and  is  abundantly  watered  by  lakes  and  rivers 
To  the  south  lies  the  territory  of  the  United  States.    • 


CHAPTEU  V. 


Upon  the  surface  of  Canada  are  found  manifest  indications 
of  that  tremendous  deluge,  the  effects  of  which  are  so  plainly 
visible  in  the  Old  World.  Huge  bowlder  stones*  abound  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  province  ;  sometimes  they  are  seen 
rounded,  piled  in  high  heaps  on  extensive  horizontal  beds  of 
limestone,  swept  together  by  the  force  of  some  vast  flood. 
Masses  of  various  kinds  of  shells  lie  in  great  quantities  in 
hollows  and  valleys,  some  of  them  hundreds  of  feet  above 
the  level  of  Lake  Ontario.  Near  to  great  rivers,  and  often 
where  now  no  waters  are  at  hand,  undulations  of  rocks  arc 
seen  like  those  found  in  the  beds  of  rapids  where  the  chan- 

*  "  The  neighborhood  of  Quebec,  as  well  as  Canada  in  genei'al,  is 
much  characterized  by  bowlders,  and  the  size  and  position  of  some  of 
them  is  very  striking.  There  are  tvvo  crowning  the  height  which 
overlooks  the  domain  farm  at  Beauport,  whose  collective  weight  is 
little  short,  by  computation,  of  forty  tons.  The  Heights  of  Abraham 
also  are,  or  rather  were,  crowded  with  them  ;  and  it  should  never  be 
forgotten  that  it  was  upon  one  of  these  hoary  symbols,  the  debacles  of 
the  deluge,  as  they  are  supposed  to  be,  that  the  immortal  and  mortal 
parts  of  two  heroes  separated  from  each  other.  It  has  often  occurred 
to  us,  that  one  of  the  most  suitable  monuments  to  the  memory  of 
Wolfe  and  Montcalm  might  have  been  erected  with  these  masses,  in 
the  form  of  a  pyramid  or  pile  of  shot,  instead  of  burying  them,  as  in 
many  instances  has  been  done,  in  order  to  clear  the  ground." — Picture 
of  Quebec,  p.  456. 


120  THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

nels  are  waved.  These  have  evidently,  at  some  remote 
period,  been  the  courses  of  floods  now  no  longer  existing. 
On  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  detached  bowlder 
stones  appear,  some  of  enormous  size,  many  tons  in  weight  ;  ' 
they  must  have  come  from  a  great  distance,  for  nowhere  in. 
that  region  is  there  any  rock  of  similar  material.  In  the 
upper  strata  of  the  country  are  abundant  fossil  remains  of 
distinct  animal  existences  now  unknown  ;  they  are  blended 
with  the  limestone  in  which  they  lie. 

It  .*eems  certain  that  the  whole  of  Canada  has  been  vio- 
lently convulsed  by  some  eflbrt  of  nature  since  the  floods  of 
the  deluge  passed  away ;  the  mountains  are  abrupt  and 
irregular  in  outline,  and  in  some  places  cleft  with  immense 
chasms  ;  the  rivers  also  show  singular  contortions.  North 
of  Quebec  and  in  St.  Paul's  Bay  are  many  traces  of  volcanic 
eruptions,  and  vast  masses  of  alluvial  rocks,  bearing  marks 
of  vitrification,  frequently  appear  on  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
There  is,  besides,  strong  evidence  that  the  American  Conti- 
nent has  lain  for  unknown  ages  beneath  the  great  deep,  or 
that  it  is  of  later  formation  than  Europe  or  Asia. 

As  far  as  it  has  been  explored,  the  general  geological 
structure  of  Canada  exhibits  a  granite  country,  with  some 
calcareous  rocks  of  a  soft  texture  in  horizontal  strata.  The 
lower  islands  in  the  St.  Lawrence  are  merely  inequalities  of 
the  vast  granite  strata  which  occasionally  stand  above  the 
level  of  the  waters  ;  the  whole  neighboring  country  appears 
as  if  the  Great  River  had  at  one  time  covered  it.  The  banks 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  arc  in  many  places  formed  of  a  schistus 
substance  in  a  decaying  state,  but  still  granite  is  every  where 
found  in  strata,  inclined,  but  never  parallel  to  the  horizon. 
In  the  Gaspe  District,  many  beautiful  quartz,  and  a  great 
variety  of  cornelians,  agates,  copals,  and  jaspers  have  been 
Ibund,  and  traces  of  coal  have  also  been  observed.* 

*  Gray  says,  in  1809,  that  "no  coal  has  ever  yet  been  lound  in 
Canada,  probably  because  it  has  never  been  thouirlit  worth  searching 
alter.  It  is  supposed  that  coal  exists  in  the  neighborhood  of  Quebec; 
at  any  rate,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  exists  in  jrreat  abundance  in 
the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  which  may  one  day  become  the  Newcastle 
of  Canada."— P.  287. 

"  No  idea  can  be  formed  of  the  importance  of  the  American  coal- 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  121 

The  north  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  thirty  miles 
below  Quebec  eastward,  and  along  the  coast  of  Labrador,  is 
generally  of  the  primitive  formations.  Except  in  the  marshes 
and  swamps,  rocks  obtrude  upon  the  surface  in  all  quarters ; 
in  many  places,  deep  fissures  of  from  six  inches  to  two  feet 
wide  are  seen  bearing  witness  to  volcanic  violence  ;  the  In- 
dians describe  some  of  these  rents  as  several  miles  long,  and 
forty  or  fifty  deep  ;  when  covered  with  the  thick  underwood, 
they  are,  at  times,  very  dangerous  to  the  traveler.  These 
chasms  are  probably  owing  to  some  great  subterranean  action  ; 
there  is  a  manuscript  in  the  Jesuits'  College  at  Quebec  which 
records  the  occurrence  of  an  earthquake  on  the  5th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1663,  at  about  half  past  5  P.M.,  felt  through  the 
whole  extent  of  Canada  :  trees  in  the  forests  were  torn  up 
and  dashed  against  each  other  with  inconceivable  violence  ; 
mountains  were  raised  from  their  foundations  and  thrown 
into  valleys,  leaving  awful  chasms  behind  ;  from  the  open- 
ings issued  dense  clouds  of  smoke,  dust,  and  sand  ;  many 
rivers  disappeared,  others  were  diverted  from  their  course, 
and  the  great  St.  Lawrence  became  suddenly  white  as  far 
down  as  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay.  The  first  shock  last- 
ed for  more  than  half  an  hour,  but  the  greatest  violence  was 
only  for  fifteen  minutes.  At  Tadoussac,  a  shower  of  volcanic 
ashes  descended  upon  the  rivers,  agitating  the  waters  like  a 
tempest.      This  tremendous  earthquake  extended  simultane- 

seatns  until  we  reflect  on  the  prodigious  area  over  which  they  are 
continuous.  The  elliptical  area  occupied  by  the  Pittsburg  seam  is 
225  miles  in  its  largest  diameter,  while  its  maximum  breadth  is  abou' 
100  miles,  its  superficial  extent  being  about  14,000  square  miles. 

"The  Apalachian  coal-field  extends  for  a  distance  of  720  miles  from 
northeast  to  southwest,  its  greatest  width  being  about  180  miles. 

"  The  Illinois  coal-field  is  not  much  inferior  in  dimensions  to  the 
whole  of  England." — Lyell's  America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  31. 

"It  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  the  true  coal  in  America,  and  I 
was  much  struck  with  its  surprising  analogy  in  mineral  and  fossil 
characters  to  that  of  Europe ;  .  .  .  .  the  whole  series  resting  on  a 
coarse  grit  and  conglomerate,  containing  quartz  pebbles,  very  like  our 
millstone  grit,  and  often  called  by  the  Americans,  as  well  as  the  En- 
glish miners,  the  '  Farewell  Rock,'  because,  when  they  have  reached 
it  in  their  borings,  they  take  leave  of  all  valuable  fuel." — Ibid.,  vol.  i., 
p.  61. 

VOL     T. F 


122  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ously  over  180,000  square  miles  of  country,  and  lasted  for 
nearly  six  months  almost  without  intermission.* 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Quebec,  a  dark  clay  slate  gener-  ■ 
ally  appears,  and  forms  the  bed  of  the  St.  Lawrence  as  far 
as  Lake  Ontario,  and  even  at  Niagara  ;  bowlders  and  other 
large  masses  of  rock,  however,  of  various  kinds,  occur  in 
detached  portions  at  many  different  places.  The  great 
elevated  ridge  of  broken  country  running  toward  the  Ottawa 
River,  at  the  distance  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles 
from  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  course  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  is  rich  in  silver,  lead,  copper,  and  iron.  On 
the  north  shore  of  the  Saguenay,  the  rugged  mountains 
abound  in  iron  to  such  an  extent  as  to  influence  the  mariner's 
compass.      The  iron  mines  of  St.  Maurice  f  have  been  long 

•  See  Appendix.  No.  XXI. 

t  Professor  Kalm  visited  the  iron-works  of  St.  Maurice  in  1748, 
eleven  or  twelve  years  after  their  first  establishment.  "  The  iron.work, 
which  is  the  only  one  in  the  country,  lies  three  miles  to  the  west  of 
Trois  Bivieres.  Here  are  two  great  forges,  besides  two  lesser  one.s 
to  each  of  the  great  ones,  and  under  the  same  roof  with  them.  The 
bellows  were  made  of  wood,  and  every  thing  else  as  in  the  Swedish 
j'orges.  The  ore  is  got  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  iron-works,  and 
is  carried  thither  on  sledges.  It  is  a  kind  of  moor-oro  (Tophus  Tu- 
balcaini :  Linn.  Sijst.  Nat.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  187,  note  5),  which  lies  in  veins 
within  six  inches  or  a  foot  from  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Each  vein 
is  from  six  to  eighteen  inches  deep,  and  below  it  is  a  white  sand.  The 
veins  are  surrounded  with  this  sand  on  both  sides,  and  covered  at  tho 
top  widi  a  thin  mold.  The  ore  is  pretty  rich,  and  lies  in  loose  lumps 
in  the  veins  of  the  size  of  two  fists,  though  there  are  a  few  which  are 
near  eighteen  inches  thick.  These  lumps  are  full  of  holes  which  are 
filled  with  ocher.  The  ore  is  so  soft  that  it  may  be  crushed  between 
the  fingers.  They  make  use  of  a  gray  limestone,  which  is  broke  in 
the  neighborhood,  for  promoting  the  fusibility  of  the  ore  ;  to  that  pur- 
pose they  likewise  employ  a  clay  marl,  which  is  found  near  this  place. 
Charcoals  are  to  bo  had  in  great  abundance  here,  because  the  country 
round  this  place  is  covered  with  wood  which  has  never  been  stirred. 
The  charcoals  from  evergreen  trees,  that  is.  from  the  fir  kind,  are  best 
for  the  forge,  but  tiiose  of  deciduous  trees  are  best  for  the  smelting- 
oven.  The  iron  which  is  here  made  was  to  me  described  as  soft, 
pliable,  and  tough,  and  is  said  to  have  the  quality  of  not  being  attacked 
by  rust  so  easily  as  other  iron.  This  iron-work  was  first  founded  in 
1737  by  private  persons,  who  aiterward  ceded  it  to  the  king;  they 
cast  cannon  and  mortars  here  of  difierent  sizes,  iron  stoves,  which  are 
in  use  all  over  Canada,  kettles,  &c.     They  have  likewise  tried  to  make 


lUK    CuNCiUKST    or    CANADA.  123 

known,  and  found  abundantly  pi'oductive  of  un  admirable 
metal,  inferior  to  none  in  the  world  ;  it  is  remarkably  pliant 
and  malleable,  and  little  subject  to  oxydation.  In  1667, 
Colbert  sent  M.  de  la  Potardiere,  an  experienced  mineral- 
ogist, to  examine  these  mines  ;  he  reported  the  iron  very 
abundant,  and  of  excellent  quality,  but  it  was  not  till  1737 
that  the  forges  were  established  by  the  French  :  they  failed 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  speculation  ;  the  superintendent 
and  fourteen  clerks,  however,  gained  fortunes  by  the  losses 
of  their  employers. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  immense  mineral  resources  remain 
undiscovered  among  the  rocky  solitudes  of  Lower  Canada. 
Marble  of  excellent  quality,  and  endless  variety  of  color,  is 

steel  here,  but  can  not  bring  it  to  any  great  perfection,  because  they 
are  unacquainted  with  the  best  method  of  preparing  it.  Here  are 
many  officers  and  overseers,  who  have  very  good  houses  built  on  pur- 
pose for  them.  It  is  agreed  on  all  hands  that  the  resources  of  the  iron- 
work do  not  pay  the  expenses  which  the  king  must  every  year  be  at 
in  maintaining  it.  They  lay  the  fault  on  the  bad  state  of  population, 
and  say  that  the  few  inhabitants  in  the  country  have  enough  to  do  with 
agriculture,  and  that  it  therefore  costs  great  trouble  and  large  sums 
to  get  a  sufficient  number  of  workmen.  But,  however  plausible  this 
may  appear,  yet  it  is  surprising  that  the  king  should  be  a  loser  in  car- 
rying on  this  work,  for  the  ore  is  easily  broken,  being  near  the  iron- 
work, and  very  fusible.  The  iron  is  good  ;  and  this  is.  moreover,  the 
only  iron-work  in  the  countr}^,  from  which  every  body  must  supply 
himself  with  tools,  and  what  other  iron  he  wants.  But  the  officers 
and  servants  belonging  to  the  iron-work  appear  to  be  in  very  affluent 
circumstances.  A  river  runs  down  from  the  iron-work  into  the  River 
St.  Lawrence,  by  which  all  the  iron  can  be  sent  in  boats  throughout 
the  country  at  a  low  rate."' — Kalm  in  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  631. 

"  M.  Dantic,  after  a  number  of  experiments  to  class  the  diflerent 
kinds  of  iron,  discovered  that  the  iron  of  Styria  was  the  best,  and  that 
the  iron  of  North  America,  of  Danemara  in  Sweden,  of  Spain,  Bayonne, 
Roussillon,  Foix,  Berri,  Thierache  in  Sweden,  the  communes  of  France, 
and  Siberia,  was  the  next  class." — Abbe  Raynal,  vol.  iii.,  p.  268. 

Weld  and  Heriot  mention  that  the  bank  of  iron  ore  at  the  forges  of 
St.  Maurice  was  nearly  exhausted  in  their  time;  new  veins,  however, 
have  been  since  discovered. 

Charlevoix  says,  in  1720:  "II  est  certain  que  ces  mines  de  fer,  que 
Tceil  perfant  de  M.  Colbert  et  la  vigilance  de  M.  Talon  avoit  fait  de- 
couvrir,  apres  avoir  presqu  entierement  disparu  pendant  plus  de  soixante 
dix  ans,  viennent  d'etre  retrouvees  par  les  soins  de  ceux  qui  occupent 
aujourd'hui  leur  place." — Charlevoix,  torn,  ii.,  p.  166. 


124  THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

found  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  limestone  is  almost 
universal.  Labrador  produces  a  beautiful  and  well-known 
spar  of  rich  and  brilliant  tints,  ultra-marine,  greenish  yellow, 
red,  and  some  of  a  fine  pearly  gray. 

In  Upper  Canada,  the  country  north  of  Lake  Ontario  is 
generally  characterized  by  a  limestone  subsoil  resting  on 
granite.  The  rocks  about  Kingston  are  usually  a  very  com- 
pact limestone,  of  a  bluish-gray  color,  having  a  slight  silicious 
admixture,  increasing  as  the  depth  increases,  with  occasional 
intrusions  of  quartz  or  hornstone.  The  limestone  strata 
are  horizontal,  with  the  greatest  dip  when  nearest  to  the 
elder  rock  on  which  it  rests  ;  their  thickness,  like  the  depths 
of  the  soil,  varies  from  a  few  feet  to  a  few  inches  :  in  these 
formations  many  minerals  are  observed  ;  genuine  granite  is 
seldom  or  never  found. 

West  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  chasm  at  the  FaUs  of  Niag- 
ara shows  the  strata  of  the  country  to  be  limestone,  next 
slate,  and  lowest  sandstone.  Limestone  and  sandstone  com- 
pose the  secondary  formations  of  a  large  portion  of  Canada, 
and  of  nearly  all  that  vast  extent  of  country  in  the  United 
States  drained  by  the  Mississippi.  At  Niagara  the  inter- 
posing structure  of  slate  is  nearly  forty  feet  thick,  and  fragile, 
like  shale  crumbling  away  from  under  the  limestone,  thus 
strengthening  the  opinion  that  there  has  been  for  many  ages 
a  continual  retrocession  of  the  Great  Falls.  Around  Lake 
St.  Clair,  masses  of  granite,  mica  slate,  and  quartz  are  found 
in  abundance.  The  level  shores  of  Lake  Huron  offer  little 
geological  variety  ;  secondary  limestone,  filled  with  the  usual 
reliquiae,  is  the  general  structure  of  the  coast,  but  detached 
blocks  of  granite  and  other  primitive  rocks  are  occasionally 
found  :  this  district  appears  poor  in  minerals.  The  waters 
of  Lakes  Huron,  Michigan,  and  Superior  have  evidently,  at 
some  remote  period,  formed  one  vast  sheet,  which  probably 
burst  its  bounds  by  a  sudden  action  of  nature,  and  subsided  into 
the  present  divisions,  all  lower  than  the  former  general  level : 
the  separating  ridges  of  these  waters  are  but  slightly  elevated  ; 
great  masses  of  rock  and  huge  bowlders  of  granite  are  Ibund 
rolled  at  least  100  miles  from  their  original  situations,  and 
immense  alluvial  beds  of  fresh-water  shells,  apparently  formed 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  125 

since  the  deluge,  but  when  the  waters  were  still  of  a  vast 
depth  and  extent,  are  found  in  the  east  of  Lake  Huron. 

Little  or  nothing  is  known  of  the  dreary  solitudes  beyond 
Lake  Superior ;  enormous  muddy  ponds  and  marshes  are 
succeeded  by  open,  dry,  sandy  plains  ;  then  forests  of  hem- 
lock and  spruce  arise,  again  swamp,  bog,  windfalls,  and  stag- 
nant water  succeed  ;  in  the  course  of  many  miles  there  may 
not  be  one  dry  spot  found  for  a  resting-place.  The  cold  is 
intense  in  this  desolate  region  ;  in  winter  spirits  freeze  into 
a  consistency  like  honey  ;  and  even  in  the  height  of  summer 
the  thermometer  only  shows  thirty-six  degrees  at  sunrise. 
Part  of  the  north  and  east  shore  of  this  greatest  of  the  lakes 
present  old  formations — sienite,  stratified  gi'eenstone,  more  or 
less  chloritic,  and  alternating  five  times  with  vast  beds  of 
granite — the  general  direction  east,  with  a  north  or  perpen- 
dicular dip.  Great  quantities  of  the  older  shell  limestone 
are  found  strewn  in  rolled  masses  on  the  beach.  Amygdaloid 
occupies  also  a  very  large  tract  to  the  north,  mingled  with 
porphyries,  conglomerates,  and  various  other  substances. 
From  Thunder  Mountain  westward,  trappose  greenstone  is 
the  prevailing  rock  :  it  gives  rise  to  some  strange  pilastered 
precipices   near  Fort  William.      Copper*   abounds  in  this 

*  Henry  and  others  speak  of  a  rock  of  pure  copper,  from  which  the 
former  cut  off  100  lbs.  weight.  W.  Schoolcraft  examined  the  remain- 
der of  the  mass  in  1820,  and  found  it  of  irregular  shape ;  in  its  great- 
est length  three  feet  eight  inches,  greatest  breadth  three  feet  four 
inches,  making  about  eleven  cubic  feet,  and  containing,  of  metallic 
matter,  about  2200  lbs. ;  but  there  were  many  marks  of  chisels  and 
axes  upon  it,  as  if  a  great  deal  had  been  carried  off.  The  surface  of 
the  block,  unlike  most  metals  which  have  suffered  a  long  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere,  presents  a  metallic  brilliancy. — Martin's  History  of 
Canada,  p.  175. 

Weld  mentions  having  seen  in  the  possession  of  a  gentleman  at 
Niagara  a  ffimp  of  copper,  of  several  ounces  weight,  apparently  as 
pure  as  if  it  had  passed  through  the  fire,  i  'hich  had  been  struck  off 
with  a  chisel  from  a  piece  equally  pure,  growing  on  one  of  the  islands 
in  Lake  Superior.  Rich  veins  of  copper  are  visible  in  almost  all  the 
rocks  on  these  islands  near  the  shore  ;  and  copper  ore,  resembling 
copperas,  is  likewise  found  in  deep  beds  near  the  water. — Weld,  p.  346. 

In  Charlevoix's  time  (1720),  "on  trouvoit  sur  les  bords  du  Lac 
Superieur  et  autour  de  certains  isles,  de  grosses  pieces  de  cuivre  qui 
sont  I'objet  de  cette  superstition  des  sauvages ;  ils  les  regardent  avec 


126  THE    CO\atJRST    OF    CANADA. 

region  to  an  extent,  perhaps,  unsurpassed  any  where  in  the 
world.      At  the  Coppermine  River,  three  hundred  miles  from 

veneration  comme  un  present  des  Dicux  qui  habitent  sous  les  eaux ; 
ils  en  ramassent  les  plus  pctits  fragmens  et  les  conservent  avec  soin, 
mais  ils  n'en  font  aucune  usage.  J'al  connu  un  de  nos  freres  lequel 
etoit  orfevre  de  son  metier,  et  qui,  pendant  qu'il  etoit  dans  la  mission 
du  Sault  Sainte  Marie,  en  etoit  allc  chercher  la,  et  en  avoit  fait  des 
chandeliers,  des  croix,  et  des  encensoirs,  car  ce  cuivre  est  souvent 
presque  tout  pur." — Tom.  v.,  p.  415. 

Kalm  says  that  the  copper  found  is  so  pure  that  it  does  not  require 
meltin<T  over  again,  but  is  fit  for  working  immediately. — Kalm  in  Pin- 
kerton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  691  (1748). 

"  Before  saying  good-by  to  Lake  Superior,  let  me  add,  that  since 
the  date  of  my  visit,  the  barren  rocks  which  we  passed  have  become 
an  object  of  intense  interest,  promising  to  rival,  in  point  of  mineral 
wealth,  the  Altai  chain  and  the  TTralian  ^Mountains.  Iron  had  long 
been  known  to  abound  on  the  northern  shore,  two  mines  having  been 
at  one  time  worked  and  abandoned,  chiefly  on  account  of  temporary 
obstacles,  which  the  gradual  advance  of  agriculture  and  civilization 
was  sure  to  remove  ;  and,  more  reeentl}-,  the  southern  shore,  though 
of  a  much  less  favorable  character  in  that  respect,  was  found  to  pos- 
sess rich  veins  of  copper  and  silver.  Under  these  circumstances,  va- 
rious enterprising  persons  in  Canada  have  prosecuted  investigations 
which  appear  to  have  satisfactorily  proved  that,  in  addition  to  their 
iron,  the  forbidding  wastes  of  the  northern  shore  contain  inexhaustible 
trea.sures,  both  of  the  precious  and  of  the  useful  metals,  of  gold  and 
of  silver,  of  copper  and  tin,  and  already  have  associations  been  formed 
to  reap  the  teeming  harvest." — Sir  G.  Simpson's  Journey  roinid  the 
World,  vol.  i.,  p.  35  (1841). 

The  foUowinsj  extract  is  from  a  Quebec  newspaper,  bearing  date 
25th  June,  1848: 

"  The  Copper  Region  :  Singular  Discovery. — A  correspondent 
of  tlie  Buffalo  Express,  writing  under  date  June  14,  from  Ontonagon, 
Lake  Superior,  says : 

"  '  Mr.  Knapp,  of  the  Vulcan  Mining  Company,  has  lately  made 
some  very  singular  discoveries  here  in  working  one  of  the  veins  which 
he  lately  found.  He  worked  into  an  old  cave  which  has  been  exca- 
vated centuries  ago.  This  led  them  to  look  for  other  works  of  the 
same  sort,  and  they  have  found  a  number  of  sinks  in  th(?- earth  which 
they  have  traced  a  long  distance.  By  digging  into  those  sinks  they 
find  them  to  have  been  made  by  the  hand  of  man.  It  appears  that 
the  ancient  miners  went  on  a  diirerent  principle  I'rom  what  they  do  at 
the  present  time.  'J'he  greatest  tiepth  yet  lound  in  these  holes  is  thirty 
feet :  after  getting  down  to  a  certain  depth,  they  drifted  along  the  vein, 
making  an  open  cut.  These  cuts  have  been  filled  nearly  to  a  level 
by  the  accumulation  of  soil ;  and  we  find  trees  of  the  largest  growth 
standing  in  this  cutter,  and  also  find  that  trees  of  a  verv  large  s^owth 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAOA.  127 

the  Sault  de  St.  Marie,  this  metal,  in  a  pure  state,  nearly 
covers  the  face  of  a  serpentine  rock,  and  is  also  found  within 
the  stone  in  solid  masses.  Iron  is  abundant  in  many  parts 
of  Upper  Canada  ;  at  Charlotteville,  eight  miles  from  Lake 
Erie,  the  metal  produced  is  of  a  very  fine  quality.  The 
Marmora  Iron  Works,  about  thirty-two  miles  north  of  the 
Bay  of  Quinte,  on  the  River  Trent,  are  situated  on  an  ex- 
tensive white  rocky  fiat,  apparently  the  bed  of  some  dried-uj) 
river  ;  the  ore  is  found  on  the  surface,  and  is  very  rich,  yield- 
ing ninety-two  per  cent.  :  the  necessary  assistants,  lime  and 
fuel,  abound  close  at  hand.  Various  other  minerals  have 
also  been  found  there  ;  among  the  rest,  small  specimens  of  a 
metal  hke  silver. 

There  are  many  strong  mineral  springs  in  different  parts 

have  grown  up  and  died,  and  decayed  many  years  .since  ;  in  the  same 
places  there  are  now  standing  trees  of  over  three  hundred  years' 
growth.  Last  week  they  dug  down  into  a  new  place,  and  about 
twelve  feet  below  the  surface  found  a  mass  of  copper  that  will  weigh 
from  eight  to  ten  tons.  This  mass  was  buried  in  ashes,  and  it  appears 
they  could  not  handle  it,  and  had  no  means  of  cutting  it,  and  probably 
built  fire  to  melt  or  separate  the  rock  from  it,  which  might  bo  done  by 
heating,  and  then  dashing  on  cold  water.  This  piece  of  copper  is  as 
pure  and  clean  as  a  new  cent ;  the  upper  surface  has  been  pounded 
elear  and  smooth.  It  appears  that  this  mass  of  copper  was  taken 
from  the  bottom  of  a  shaft,  at  the  depth  of  about  thirty  feet.  In 
sinking  this  shaft  from  where  the  mass  now  lies,  they  followed  the 
course  of  the  vein,  which  pitches  considerably  :  this  enabled  them  to 
raise  it  as  far  as  the  hole  came  up  with  a  slant.  At  the  bottom  of  a 
shaft  they  found  skids  of  black  oak,  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  in 
diameter  :  these  sticks  were  charred  through,  as  if  burned  :  they 
found  large  wooden  wedges  in  the  same  situation.  In  this  shaft  they 
found  a  miner's  gad  and  a  narrow  chisel  made  of  copper.  I  do  not 
know  whether  these  copper  tools  are  tempered  or  not,  but  their  make 
displays  good  workmanship.  They  have  taken  out  more  than  a  ton 
of  cobble-stones,  which  have  been  used  as  mallets.  These  stones  were 
nearly  round,  with  a  score  cut  around  the  tenter,  and  look  as  if  this 
score  was  cut  for  the  purpose  of  putting  a  withe  round  for  a  handle. 
The  Chippewa  Indians  all  say  that  this  work  was  never  done  by  In- 
dians. This  discovery  will  lead  to  a  new  method  of  finding  veins  in 
this  country,  and  may  be  of  great  benefit  to  some.  I  suppose  they 
will  keep  finding  new  wonders  for  some  time  yet,  as  it  is  bat  a  short 
time  since  they  first  found  the  old  mine.  There  is  copper  here  in 
abundance,  and  I  think  people  will  begin  to  dig  it  in  a  few  years.  Mr. 
Knapp  has  found  considerable  silver  during  the  past  winter.'  " 


128  THE    CO.XaUCST    OF    CANADA. 

of  Canada  ;  the  most  remarkable  of  these  is  the  Burning 
Spring  above  Niagara ;  its  waters  are  black,  hot  and  bub- 
bling, and  emit,  during  the  summer,  a  gas  that  burns  with 
a  pure  bright  flame ;  this  sulphureted  hydrogen  is  used  to 
light  a  neighboring  mill.  Salt  springs  are  also  numerous  ; 
gypsum  is  obtained  in  large  quantities,  with  pipe  and  pot- 
ter's clay  ;  yellow  ocher  sometimes  occurs ;  and  there  are 
many  kinds  of  valuable  building  stones.  It  is  gathered 
from  the  Indians  that  there  are  incipient  volcanoes  in  sev- 
eral parts  of  these  regions,  pa.rticularly  toward  the  Chip- 
pewa hunting  grounds. 

The  soil  of  Lower  Canada  is  generally  fertile ;  about 
Quebec  it  is  light  and  sandy  in  some  parts,  in  others  it  is  a 
mixture  of  loam  and  clay.  Above  the  Richelieu  Rapids, 
where  the  great  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  begins  to  v\dden, 
the  low  lands  consist  of  a  light  and  loose  dark  earth,  with 
ten  or  twelve  inches  of  depth,  lying  on  a  stratum  of  cold 
clay,  all  apparently  of  alluvial  formation.  Along  the  banks 
of  the  Ottawa  there  is  a  great  extent  of  rich  alluvial  soil ; 
each  year  develops  large  districts  of  fertile  land,  before  un- 
known. The  soils  of  Upper  Canada  are  various ;  brown 
clay  and  loam,  intermixed  with  marl,  predominates,  particu- 
larly in  the  rich  district  between  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
Ottawa  :  north  of  Ontario  it  is  more  clayey  and  extremely 
fertile.  A  rich  black  mold  prevails  in  the  district  between 
Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie.  There  is  in  this  upper  country 
an  almost  total  absence  of  stone  or  gravel  for  building  and 
other  common  purposes.  So  great  is  the  fertihty  of  the  soil 
in  Canada,  that  fifty  bushels  of  v/heat  an  acre  are  frequently 
produced,  even  where  the  stumps  of  trees  still  occupy  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  ground  :  near  Toronto  one  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat  have  been  grown  upon  a  single  acre,  and 
in  some  districts  the  land  has  yielded  rich  crops  of  that  grain 
for  twenty  successive  years,  without  being  manured. 

The  quality  of  the  soil  in  wild  lands  may  be  known  by 
the  timber  growing  upon  it.  Hard-wood  trees,  those  that 
shed  their  leaves  during  winter,  show  the  best  indication, 
Buch  as  maple,  bass-wood,  elm,  black  walnut,  hickory,  but- 
ternut, iron-wood,  hemlock,  and  a  giant  species  of  nettle.     A 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  129 

mixture  of  beech  is  good,  but  where  it  stands  alone  the  soil 
is  generally  light.  Oak  is  uncertain  as  an  indication,  being 
found  on  various  bottoms.  Soft  or  evergreen  wood,  such  as 
pine,  fir,  larch,  and  others  of  the  species,  are  considered  de- 
cisive of  a  very  light  soil.  The  larch  or  tamarack  on  wide, 
flat  plains,  indicates  sand  upon  a  substratum  of  marly  clay, 
which  the  French  Canadians  hold  in  high  estimation.  It 
is,  however,  right  to  add,  that  some  very  respectable  author- 
ities dispute  that  the  nature  of  the  timber  can  be  fully  relied 
on  as  a  guide  to  the  value  of  the  land.  The  variety  of  trees 
found  in  the  Canadian  forest  is  astonishing,  and  it  is  sup- 
posed that  many  kinds  still  remain  unknown.  Of  all  these, 
none  is  more  beautiful  and  useful  than  the  maple  ;  its  brill- 
iant foliage,  changing  with  each  season  of  the  year,  is  the 
richest  ornament  of  the  forest.  The  timber  is  valuable  for 
many  purposes,  and  from  the  sap  might  be  produced  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  excellent  sugar.  A  great  deal  is  at  pres- 
ent made,  but,  like  all  the  other  resources  of  this  magnificent 
country,  it  is  very  partially  turned  to  the  use  of  man  :  the 
sap  of  the  maple  is  valuable  also  for  distillation. 

There  is  a  considerable  variety  of  climate  in  Canada, 
from  the  northeast,  chilled  by  the  winds  of  the  Atlantic,* 

*  Acosta  is  the  first  philosopher  who  endeavored  to  account  for  the 
different  degrees  of  heat  in  the  Old  and  New  Continents  by  the  agency 
of  the  winds  which  blow  in  each.  {Hist.  Moral.,  lib.  ii.  and  iii.) 
M.  de  Buffon  adopted  the  same  theory,  and  illustrated  it  with  many 
new  observations.  "  The  prevailing  winds,  both  in  Upper  and  Lower 
Canada,  are  the  northeast,  northwest,  and  southwest,  which  all  have 
a  considerable  influence  on  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  and  the 
state  of  the  weather.  The  southwest  wind  is  the  most  prevalent,  but 
it  is  generally  moderate,  and  accompanied  by  clear  skies ;  and  the 
northeast  and  easterly  winds  usually  bring  with  them  continued  rain 
in  summer,  and  snow  in  winter ;  the  northwest  is  remarkable  for  its 
dryness  and  elasticity,  and,  from  its  gathering  an  intense  degree  of 
frigor  as  it  sweeps  over  the  frozen  plains  and  ice-bound  hills  in  that 
quarter  of  the  continent,  invariably  brings  with  it  a  perceptible  degree 
of  cold.  Winds  from  due  north,  south,  or  west  are  not  frequent.  At 
Quebec,  the  direction  of  the  wind  often  changes  with  the  tide,  which 
is  felt  for  nearly  sixty  miles  higher  up  the  stream  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence."— Bonchette,  vol.  i.,  p.  343. 

"  The  northwest  wind  is  uncommonly  dry,  and  brings  with  it  fresh 
animation  and  vigor  to  every  living  thing.     Although  this  wind  is  so 


130  THE  COXQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

to  the  southwest,  five  degrees  lower,  and  approachin<T  the 
center  of  the  continent  ;  the  neighborhood  of  ranges  of  bare 
and  rugged  mountains,*  has  also  a  marked  effect  upon  the 
temperature  of  different  localities.  However,  in  all  parts 
the  winters  are  very  severe,  while  the  heat  of  summer  is 
little  inferior  to  that  of  the  tropics.  But,  on  the  whole,  the 
clear  blue  sky,  unobscnred  by  fog  or  mist,  and  the  pure 
elastic  air,  bespeak  the  salubrity  of  these  provinces  in  all 
seasons. 

In  Lower  Canada  the  extreme  severity  of  the  winter  is, 
in  a  measure,  caused  by  the  vicinity  of  the  range  of  lofty 
and  rugged  mountains,    as   Avell   as  by   its   more   northern 

very  piercing  in  winter,  yet  the  people  never  complain  so  much  of 
cold  as  when  the  northeast  wind  blows.  The  northeast  wind  is  also 
cold,  but  it  renders  the  air  raw  and  damp.  That- from  the  southeast 
is  damp,  but  warm.  Rain  or  snow  usually  falls  when  the  wind  comes 
from  any  point  toward  the  east.  The  northwest  wind,  from  coming 
over  such  an  immense  tract  of  land,  must  necessarily  be  dry ;  and, 
coming  from  regions  eternally  covered  with  mounds  of  snow  and  ice, 
it  must  also  be  cold.  The  northeast  wind,  from  traversing  the  frozen 
seas,  must  be  cold  likewise ;  but,  from  passing  over  such  a  large 
portion  of  the  water)'  main  afterward,  it  brings  damp  and  moisture 
with  it.  All  those  from  the  northeast  are  damp,  and  loaded  with 
vapors  from  the  same  cause.  Southerly  winds,  from  crossing  the 
warm  regions  between  the  tropics,  are  attended  with  heats ;  and  the 
southwest  wind,  from  passing,  like  the  northwest,  over  a  great  ex- 
tent of  land,  is  dry  at  the  same  lime." — Weld's  Travels  in  America, 
4th  ed.,  p.  184. 

Kalm  says,  p.  748.  that  he  was  assured  that  "the  northeast  wind, 
when  It  is  very  violent  in  winter,  pierces  through  walls  of  a  moderate 
thickness,  so  that  the  whole  wall  on  the  inside  of  the  house  is  covered 
with  snow,  or  a  thick  hoar  frost.  The  wind  damages  severely  the 
houses  that  are  built  of  stone,  so  that  the  owners  are  frequently 
obliged  to  repair  them  on  the  northeast  side.  In  svimmer  the  north 
wind  is  generally  attended  with  rain." — Kalm  in  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii., 
p.  651. 

*  "  Many  of  these  mountains  arc  ver}'  high.  During  my  staj'  in 
Canada,  I  asked  many  people  who  have  traveled  much  in  North 
America  whether  they  ever  met  with  mountains  so  high  that  the 
snow  never  melts  on  them  in  summer,  to  which  they  always  answered 
in  the  negative.  They  say  that  the  snow  sometimes  stays  on  the 
hiphest,  viz.,  on  some  of  those  between  Canada  and  the  English 
colonics  during  a  part  of  the  summer,  but  that  it  melts  as  soon  as  the 
great  beat  begins.'" — Kalm,  p.  671. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  131 

position.  The  fall  of  snow  commences  in  November,  but 
seldom  remains  long  on  the  ground  till  December ;  in  that 
month  constantly  successive  falls  of  snow  rapidly  cover  the 
whole  surface  of  the  country.  Toward  the  end  of  Decem- 
ber the  heavy  clouds  disperse,  and  the  rude  storm  is  followed 
by  a  perfect  calm  ;  the  air  becomes  pure  and  frosty,  and 
the  skies  of  a  clear  and  beautiful  azure.  The  River  St. 
Lawrence*  is  frozen  over  every  winter  from  Montreal  to 
the  Richelieu  Rapids,  but  from  thence  to  Quebec  only  once 
in  about  five  years ;  at  other  times,  however,  enormous 
fields  and  masses  of  ice  drift  up  and  down  with  the  changing 
tides,  increasing  or  diminishing  with  the  severity  or  mildness 
of  the  weather  ;  where  the  Island  of  Orleans  divides  the 
Great  River  into  two  branches,  the  northern  channel  is 
narrow  and  less  acted  upon  by  tides ;  here  these  huge 
frozen  masses  are  forced  together  by  the  winds  and  waters, 
and  form  an  enormous  bridge  from  shore  to  shore.  The 
greatest  degree  cff  cold  prevails  toward  the  end  of  January, 
for  a  few  days  occasionally  so  intense  that  the  human  frame 
can  scarcely  endure  exposure  to  it  for  any  length  of  time. 
When  winter  has  set  in  nearly  every  bird  disappears,  and 
few  wild  animals  are  any  longer  to  be  seen  ;  some,  like  the 
bear,  remain  torpid,  others  change  their  color  to  a  snowy 
white,  and  are  rarely  observed.  Rocks  of  the  softer  kinds 
are  often  rent  asunder,  as  if  with  the  explosion  of  gunpowder, 
by  the  irresistible  expansive  power  of  the  frost. f      Dogs  be- 

*  "  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  and  not  a  little  surprising,  that  so  large 
a  river  as  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  latitude  47°,  should  be  shut  up  with 
ice  as  soon,  and  continue  as  long  shut  up,  as  the  comparatively  small 
river,  the  Neva,  in  latitude  60°."' — Gray's  Canada,  p.  320. 

t  "  The  following  curious  experiments  were  made  some  years  ago 
at  Quebec,  by  Major  Williams,  of  the  Artillery.  Iron  shells  of  differ- 
ent sizes,  from  the  thirteen-inch  shell  to  the  cohorn  of  four  inches 
diameter,  were  nearly  filled  with  water,  and  an  iron  plug  was  driven 
in  at  the  fuse-hole  by  a  sledge-hammer.  It  was  found,  however, 
that  the  plug  could  never  be  driven  so  firmly  into  the  fuse-hole  as  to 
resist  the  expanding  ice,  which  pushed  it  out  with  great  force  and 
velocity,  and  a  bolt  or  cylinder  of  ice  immediately  shot  up  from  the 
hole ;  but  when  a  plug  was  used  that  had  springs  which  would  ex- 
pand and  lay  hold  of  the  inside  of  the  cavity,  so  that  it  could  not 
possibly  be   pushed  out,  the  force  of  expansion  split  the  shell.      The 


132        THE  coNauEsr  of  canada. 

come  inad  from  the  severity  of  the  cold,  and  polished  irou 
or  other  metal,  when  exposed  in  the  air  for  a  little  time, 
burns  the  hand  at  the  touch  as  if  it  were  red  hot.*  During 
the  still  nights  of  intense  frost  the  woods  send  forth  a  creak- 
ing sound,  like  the  noise  of  chopping  with  thousands  of 
hatchets.  Sometimes  a  brief  thaw  occurs  in  the  middle  of 
winter,  when  a  very  extraordinary  efiect,  called  by  the 
Canadians  ver  glas,  is  occasionally  produced  upon  the  bare 
trees  :  they  are  covered  with  an  incrustation  of  pure  ice 
from  the  stem  to  the  extremities  of  the  smallest  branches  ; 
the  slight  frost  of  the  night  freezes  the  moisture  that  covered 
the  bark  during  the  day  ;  the  branches  become  at  last  unable 
to  bear  their  icy  burden,  and  when  a  strong  wind  arises, 
the  destruction  among  trees  of  all  kinds  is  immense.  When 
the  sun  shines  upon  the  forest  covered  with  this  brilliant 
incrustation,  the  effect  is  indescribably  beautiful. 

The  months  of  March  and  April  are  usually  very  hot, 
and  the  power  of  the  sun's  rays  is  heightened  by  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  ice  and  snows.  Toward  the  end  of  April  or  the 
beginning  of  May,  the  dreary  winter  covering  has  altogether 
disappeared  ;  birds  of  various  kinds  return  from  their  wintery 
exile  ;  the  ice  accumulated  in  the  great  lakes  and  streams 
that  are  tributary  to  the  St.  Lawrence  breaks  up  with  a 
tremendous  noise,  and  rushes  down  in  vast  quantities  toward 
the  ocean,  till  again  the  tides  of  the  Gulf  drive  them  back. 
Sometimes  the  Great  River  is  blocked  up  from  shore  to 
shore  with  these  frozen  masses  ;  the  contending  currents 
force  them  together  with  terrible  violence,  and  pile  them 
over  each  other  in  various  fantastic  forms.  The  navigation 
of  the  river  is  not  fairly  practicable  till  all  these  have  disap- 
peared, which  is  generally  about  the  1 0th  of  May. 

amazing  I'orcc  of  expansion  is  also  .shown  from  the  distance  to  which 
these  iron  plugs  arc  thrown  out  of  the  fuse-hole.  A  plug  of  two 
pounds  and  a  half  weight  was  thrown  no  less  than  415  feet  from  the 
shell ;  the  fuse  axis  was  at  an  angle  of  45°  ;  the  thermometer  showed 
51'^  below  the  freezing  point.  Here  yon  see  ice  and  gunpowder 
performing  the  same  operations.  That  similar  eflects  should  pro- 
ceed from  such  dissimilar  causes  is  very  extraordinary." — Gray's 
Canada,  p.  309. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXII. 


THE    COi\aUKST    OF    CANADA.  133 

"When  the  young  summer  fairly  sets  in,  nothing  can  be 
more  charming  than  the  climate — during  the  day  bright  and 
genial,  with  the  air  still  pure  and  clear ;  the  transition  from 
bare  brown  fields  and  woods  to  verdure  and  rich  green  foliage 
is  so  rapid,  that  its  progress  is  almost  perceptible.  Spring 
has  scarcely  begun  before  summer  usurps  its  place,  and  the 
earth,  awakened  from  nature's  long,  wintery  sleep,  gives 
forth  her  increase  with  astonishing  bounty.  This  delightful 
season  is  usually  ushered  in  by  moderate  rains,  and  a  con- 
siderable rise  in  the  meridian  heat ;  but  the  nights  are  still 
cool  and  refreshing.  In  June,  July,  and  August,  the  heat 
becomes  great,  and  for  some  days  intense  ;  the  roads  and 
rocks  at  noon  are  so  hot  as  to  be  painful  to  the  touch,  and 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  possess  almost  tropical  power ;  but 
the  night  brings  reinvigorating  coolness,  and  the  breezes  of 
the  morning  are  fresh  and  tempered  as  in  our  own  favored 
land.  September  is  usually  a  delightful  month,  although  at 
times  oppressively  sultry.  The  autumn  or  fall  rivals  the 
spring  in  healthy  and  moderate  warmth,  and  is  the  most 
agreeable  of  the  seasons.  The  night-frosts  destroy  the  in- 
numerable venomous  flies  that  have  infested  the  air  through 
the  hot  season,  and,  by  their  action  on  the  various  foliage 
of  the  forest,  bestow  an  inconceivable  richness  of  coloring  to 
the  landscape. 

During  the  summer  there  is  a  great  quantity  of  electric 
fluid  in  the  atmosphere,  but  storms  of  thunder  and  lightning 
are  not  of  very  frequent  occurrence.  When  they  do  take 
place,  their  violence  is  sometimes  tremendous,  and  serious 
damage  often  occurs.  These  outbursts,  however,  usually 
produce  a  favorable  effect  upon  the  weather  and  temperature. 

The  most  remarkable  meteoric  phenomenon  that  has  oc- 
curred in  Canada  since  the  country  became  inhabited  by 
civilized  man,  was  first  seen  in  October,  1785,  and  again 
in  July,  1814.  At  noonday  a  pitchy  darkness,  of  a  dismal 
and  sinister  character,  completely  obscured  the  light  of  the 
sun,  continuing  for  about  ten  minutes  at  a  time,  and  being 
frequently  repeated  during  the  afternoon.  In  the  interval 
between  each  mysterious  eclipse  dense  masses  of  black  clouds, 
streaked  with  yellow,  drove  athwart  the  darkened  sky,  with 


134  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

fitful  gusts  of  wind  ;  thunder,  lightning,  black  rain,  and 
showers  of  ashes  added  to  the  terrors  of  the  scene  ;  and,  when 
the  sun  appeared,  its  color  was  a  bright  red.  The  Indians 
ascribe  this  wonderful  phenomenon  to  a  vast  volcano  in  the 
unknown  regions  of  Labrador.  The  testimony  of  M.  Gagnon 
gives  corroboration  to  this  idea.  In  December,  1791,  when 
at  St.  Paul's  Bay,  in  the  Saguenay  country,  he  saw  the 
flames  of  an  immense  volcano,  mingled  with  black  smoke, 
rising  to  a  great  height  in  the  air.  Several  violent  shocks, 
as  of  an  earthquake,  accompanied  this  strange  appearance. 

The  prevailing  winds  of  Lower  Canada  are  the  northeast, 
northwest,  and  southwest,  and  these  exercise  considerable 
influence  on  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  and  the 
state  of  the  weather.  The  southwest  wind,  the  most  prev- 
alent, is  generally  moderate,  accompanied  by  clear,  bright 
skies  ;  the  northeast  and  east  wind  bring  rain  in  summer, 
and  snow  in  winter,  from  the  dreary  regions  of  Labrador  ; 
and  the  northwest  blast  is  keen  and  dry,  from  its  passage 
over  the  vast  frozen  solitudes  that  lie  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains*  and  Hudson's  Bay.  Winds  from  the  north, 
south,  or  west  are  seldom  felt :  the  currents  of  the  neigh- 
boring air  are  often  affected  by  the  direction  of  the  tidal 
streams,  which  act  as  far  as  400  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Great  River. 

The  effect  of  a  long  continuance  of  snow  upon  the  earth 
is  favorable  to  vegetation  ;  were  the  surface  exposed  to  the 
intense  severity  of  wintery  frosts,  unprotected  by  this  ample 
covering,  the  ground  could  not  regain  a  proper  degree  of 
heat,  even  under  a  Canadian  sun.  before  the  autumn  frosts 
had  again  chilled  the  energies  of  nature.  The  natural  heat 
of  the  earth  is  about  42°;  the  surface  waters  freeze  at  32°, 
and  thus  present  a  non-conducting  incrustation  to  the  keen 
atmosphere  ;  then  the  snow  becomes  a  warm  garment  till 
the  April  sun  softens  the  air  above  ;  the  latent  heat  of  the 
earth  begins  to  be  developed  ;  the  snow  melts,  and  penetrates 
the  ground  through  every  pore,  rendering  friable  the  stiff'est 
soil.      For  a  mouth  or  more  before  the  visible  termination 

*  "  These  moantains  were  known  to  the  French  missionaries  by  the 
name  of  Montaenes  des  Pierres  BrillantPs.*' — Chateaubriand. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  135 

of  the  Canadian  winter,  vegetation  is  in  active  progress  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  even  under  snow  several  feet  thick. 

In  Upper  Canada  the  climate  does  not  present  such  ex- 
tremes of  heat  and  cold  as  in  the  Lower  Province.  In  the 
NeAvcastle  District,  between  latitude  44°  and  45°,  the  win- 
ter is  little  more  severe  than  in  England,  and  the  warmth 
of  summer  is  tempered  by  a  cool  and  refreshing  southwest 
bi'eeze,  M'hich  blows  throughout  the  day  from  over  the  waters 
of  the  great  lakes.  In  spring  and  autumn  the  southwest 
wind  brings  with  it  frequent  rains ;  the  northwest  wind  pre- 
vails in  winter,  and  is  dry,  cold,  and  elastic  ;  the  southeast- 
ern breezes  are  generally  accompanied  by  thaw  and  rain  : 
from  the  west,  south,  or  north,  the  wind  rarely  blows.  The 
most  sudden  changes  of  weather  consequent  upon  varying 
winds  are  observed  from  the  northwest,  when  the  air  be- 
comes pure  and  cool ;  thunder  storms  generally  clear  away 
with  this  wind  :  the  heaviest  falls  of  snow,  and  the  most 
continued  rains,  come  with  the  eastern  breezes. 

The  great  lakes  are  never  frozen  in  their  centers,  but  a 
strong  border  of  thick  ice  extends  for  some  distance  from  the 
shore  :  in  severe  weather,  a  beautiful  evaporation  in  various 
fantastic  shapes  ascends  from  the  vast  surfaces  of  these  in- 
land seas,  forming  cloudy  columns  and  pyramids  to  a  great 
height  in  the  air  :  this  is  caused  by  the  water  being  of  a 
higher  temperature  than  the  atmosphere  above.  The  chain 
of  shallow  lakes  from  Lake  Simco  toward  the  midland  dis- 
trict are  rarely  frozen  over  more  than  an  inch  in  thickness 
till  about  Christmas,  and  are  free  from  ice  again  by  the  end 
of  March.  The  earth  in  Upper  Canada  is  seldom  froze 
more  than  twelve  or  eighteen  inches  deep,  and  the  general 
covering  of  the  snow  is  about  a  foot  and  a  half  in  thickness. 

In  Canada  the  Indian  summer  is  perhaps  the  most  de- 
lightful period  of  the  year.  During  most  of  November  the 
weather  is  mild  and  serene  ;  a  soft,  dry  haze  pervades  the 
air,  thickening  toward  the  horizon  ;  in  the  evenings  the  sun 
sets  in  a  rich  crimson  flush,  and  the  temperature  is  mild  and 
genial  :  the  birds  avail  themselves  of  the  Indian  summer  for 
their  migration.  A  phenomenon  called  the  '•  tertian  inter- 
vals" has  excited  much  interest,  and  is  still  unexplained  :   at 


136  THE  COXaUKST  OF  CANADA. 

the  end  of  the  third  day  the  greatest  intensity  of  frost  is 
always  remittent,  and  succeeded  by  several  days  of  mild 
weather.  The  climate  is  so  dry  that  metals  rarely  are 
rusted  by  exposure  to  the  air.  This  absence  of  humidity 
prevents  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  from  being  so  power- 
j'ul  here  in  their  efl'ect  upon  tbe  sensations  of  the  human 
frame  as  in  other  countries. 

The  Aurora  Borealis,  or  northern  lights,*  appear  with 
great  brilliancy  in  the  clear  Canadian  sky,  especially  during 
the  winter  nights.  Starting  from  behind  the  distant  horizon, 
they  race  up  through  the  vault  of  heaven,  spreading  over 
all  space  one  moment,  shrinking  to  a  quivering  streak  the 
next,  shooting  out  again  where  least  expected,  then  vanish- 
ing into  darkness  deeper  than  before  ;  now  they  seem  like 
vast  floating  banners  of  variegated  flame,  then  as  crescents, 
again  as  majestic  columns  of  light,  ever  changing  in  form 
and  color.  It  is  said  that  a  rustling  sound  like  that  of  silk 
accompanies  this  beautilul  appearance. 

The  climate  of  Canada  has  undergone  a  slight  change 
since  the  discovery  of  the  country  ;  especially  from  the  year 
1818,  an  amelioration  has  been  perceptible,  partly  owing  to 
the  motion  of  the  magnetic  poles,  and  partly  to  the  gradual 
cultivation  and  clearing  of  the  country.  The  winters  are 
somewhat  shorter  and  milder,  and  less  snow  falls  than  of  old  ; 
the  summers  are  also  hotter.!  The  felling  of  the  forests, 
the  draining  of  the  morasses,  partial  though  it  may  still  be, 
together  with  the  increasing  population,  have  naturally  some 
effect.  The  thick  foliage,  which  before  interposed  its  shade 
between  the  sun  and  the  earth,  intercepting  the  genial  warmth 
from  the  lower  atmosphere,  has  now  been  removed  in  many 
extensive  tracts  of  country  :  the  cultivated  soil  imbibes  the 
heat,  and  returns  it  to  the  surrounding  air  in  warm  and  hu- 
mid vapors.  The  exhalations  arising  I'rom  a  much  increased 
amount  of  animal  life,  together  with  the  burning  of  so  many 
combustibles,  are  not  altogether  without  their  influence  in 
ftoftening  the  severity  of  the  climate. ^: 

Canada  abounds  in  an  immense  and  beautiful  variety  of 

♦  See  Appendix,  No.  XXIII.  t  See  Appendix,  No.  XXIV. 

}  See  Appendix.  No.  XXV. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  137 

trees*  and  shrubs.  Among  the  timber  trees,  the  oak,  pine, 
fir,  ehu,  ash,  birch,  wahiut,  beech,  maple,  chestnut,  cedar, 
and  aspen,  are  the  principal.  Of  fruit-trees  and  shrubs  there 
are  walnut,  chestnut,  apple,  pear,  cherry,  plum,  elder,  vines,t 
hazel,  hickory,  sumach,  juniper,  hornbeam,  thorn,  laurel, 
whortleberry,  cranberry,  gooseberry,  raspberry,  blackberry, 
blueberry,  sloe,  and  others ;  strawberries  of  an  excellent 
flavor  are  luxuriantly  scattered  over  every  part  of  the  coun- 
try. Innumerable  varieties  of  useful  and  beautiful  herbs  and 
grasses  enrich  the  forests,  whose  virtues  and  peculiarities  are  as 
yet  but  little  known  to  Europeans. $     In  many  places,  pine- 

*  "  In  Europe,  in  Asia,  in  Africa,  and  even  in  South  America,  the 
primeval  trees,  however  much  their  magnitude  may  arrest  admiration, 
do  not  grow  in  the  promiscuous  style  that  prevails  in  the  general  char- 
acter of  the  North  American  woods.  Many  varieties  of  the  pine,  in- 
termingled with  birch,  maple,  beech,  oak,  and  numerous  other  tribes, 
branch  luxuriantly  over  the  banks  of  lakes  and  rivers,  extend  in  stately 
grandeur  along  the  plains,  and  stretch  proudly  up  to  the  very  summits 
of  the  mountains.  It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  autumnal  beauty 
of  these  forests ;  nothing  under  heaven  can  be  compared  to  its  effulgent 
grandeur.  Two  or  three  frosty  nights  in  the  decline  of  autumn  trans- 
form the  boundless  verdure  of  a  whole  empire  into  eveiy  possible  tint 
of  brilliant  scarlet,  rich  violet,  every  .shade  of  blue  and  brown,  vivid 
crimson,  and  glittering  yellow.  The  stern,  inexorable  fir  tribes  alone 
maintain  their  eternal  somber  green.  All  others,  in  mountains  or  in 
villages,  burst  into  the  most  glorious  vegetable  beauty,  and  exhibit  the 
most  splendid  and  most  enchanting  panorama  on  earth." — M'Gregor, 
p.  79,  80. 

Mr.  Weld  .says.  '•  The  varied  hues  of  the  trees  at  this  season  of  the 
year  (autumn)  can  hardly  be  imagined  by  those  who  never  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  observing  them  ;  and,  indeed,  as  others  have  often 
remarked  before,  were  a  painter  to  attempt  to  color  a  picture  from 
them,  it  would  be  condemned  in  Europe  as  totally  different  from  any 
thing  that  ever  existed  in  nature." — Weld,  p.  510. 

"  I  can  only  compare  the  brightness  of  the  faded  leaves,  scarlet, 
purple,  and  yellow,  to  that  of  tulips." — Lyell's  America,  vol.  i.,  p.  107. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  XXVI. 

t  "  One  of  the  most  striking  features  in  the  vegetation  of  Canada  is 
the  number  of  species  belonging  to  the  genera  Solidago,  Aster,  Quer- 
cus,  and  Pinus.  It  is  also  distinguished  for  the  many  plants  contained 
in  the  Orders,  or  natural  families — Grossulacese,  Onograceae,  Hyper- 
icacese,  Aceracese,  Betulacese,  Juglandacese,  and  Vacciniaceae ;  and 
for  the  presence  of  the  peculiar  families — Podophyllse,  Sarraceniacese, 
and  Hydrophyllacese.  There  is,  on  the  contrary,  the  climate  being 
considered,  a  remarkable  paucity  of  Cruciferse  and  Umbelliferae,  and, 


138  THF,  roxauEST  of  c.a\ada. 

trees  grow  to  the  height  of  120  feet  and   upward,  and  are 

what  is  most  extraordinary,  a  total  absence  of  the  genus  Erica  (heath),' 
which  covers  so  many  thousands  of  acres  in  corresponding  latitudes  in 
Europe.  Mrs.  Butler  mentions,  in  her  Journal,  '  that  some  poor 
Scotch  peasants,  about  to  emigrate  to  Canada,  took  away  with  them 
some  roots  of  the  "bonny  blooming  heather,"'  in  hopes  of  making  this 
beloved  adorner  of  their  native  mountains  the  cheerer  of  their  exile. 
The  heather,  however,  refused  to  grow  in  the  Canadiaji  soil.  The 
person  who  told  me  this  said  that  the  circumstance  had  been  related  to 
him  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  whose  sj'mpathy  with  the  disappointment  of 
these  poor  children  of  the  romantic  heather-land  betrayed  itself  even 
in  tears.' 

'■  Canada  is  not  rich  in  ro.ses ;  only  three  species  occur  throughout 
the  two  provinces.  Among  the  Ribes  and  the  Ericaceae,  however, 
are  found  many  of  the  most  beautiful  ornaments  of  the  English  garden  : 
Andromedas.  Rhododendrons,  Azaleas,  and  Kalmias  belong  to  the  lat- 
ter order.  The  Azalea  was  thus  described  by  one  of  the  earlier  Eu- 
ropean botanical  travelers,  Professor  Kalm*  (in  1748):  'the  Ma)'- 
flowers,  as  the  Swedes  call  them,  were  plentiful  in  the  woods  wherever 
I  went  to-day,  especiall}'  on  a  dry  soil,  or  one  that  is  somewhat  moist. 
The  Swedes  have  given  them  this  name  because  they  are  in  full  blos- 
som in  3Iay.  Some  of  the  Swedes  and  the  Dutch  call  them  '"  Pinxter 
Bloem"'  (Whitsunday  flowers),  as  they  are  in  blossom  about  Whitsun- 
tide. The  English  call  them  wild  honeysuckles,  and  at  a  distance 
they  really  have  a  resemblance  to  the  honeysuckle  or  lonicera.  Dr. 
Linnajus  and  other  botanists  call  it  an  Azalea  (Azalea  Nudiflora,  Linn. 
Spec.  Plant.,  p.  214.)  Its  flowers  were  now  open,  and  added  a  new 
ornament  to  the  woods,  being  little  inferior  to  the  flowers  of  the  honey- 

>  Seven  hours'  journey  above  the  sources  of  the  Bow  River,  Sir  George  Simpson 
mentions  meeting  with  "an  unexpected  reminiscence  of  my  own  native  hills,  in  the 
shape  of  a  plant  which  ujipeared  to  me  to  be  the  very  heather  of  the  mountains  of  Scot- 
land ;  and  I  might  well  regard  the  reminiscence  as  unexpected,  inasmuch  as  in  nil  my 
wanderings,  of  more  than  twenty  years,  I  had  never  found  any  thing  of  the  kind  in 
North  America.  As  I  took  a  considerable  degree  of  interest  in  the  question  of  the  sup- 
posed identity,  I  carried  away  two  specimens,  which,  however,  proved,  on  a  minute 
comparison,  to  differ  from  the  genuine  staple  of  the  brown  heaths  of  the  'Land  o' 
Cakes.'  "—Vol.  i.,  p.  120. 

"  We  missed,  also,  the  small  'crimson- tipped  daisy'  on  the  green  lawns,  and  were 
told  that  they  have  been  often  cultivated  with  rare,  but  are  found  to  wither  when 
exposed  to  the  dry  air  and  bright  sun  of  this  climate.  When  weeds  so  common  with 
us  can  not  be  reared  here,  we  cease  to  wonder  at  the  dissimilarity  of  the  native  Flora 
of  the  New  World.  Yet,  wherever  the  aboriginal  forests  arc  cleared,  we  see  orchards, 
gardens,  and  arable  lands  filled  with  the  same  fruit-trees,  the  same  grain  und  vegeta- 
bles, as  in  Europe,  so  bountifully  has  Nature  provided  that  the  plants  most  useful  to 
man  should  be  capable,  like  himself,  of  becoming  cosmopolites." — Lyell's  Travels  in 
North  America,  vol.  i.,  p.  5. 

3  The  Kalmias  were  so  named  by  Linnnui  in  honor  of  Professor  Kalm,  a  favorita 
poptl  of  the  great  botanist. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  139 

from  nine  to  ten  feet  in  circumference.*  Of  this  and  of  the  fir 
species  there  are  many  varieties,  some  of  them  valuable  from 
their  production  of  pitch,  tar,  and  turpentine.  The  American 
oakf  is  quicker  in  its  growth  and  less  durable  than  that  of 
England  ;  one  species,  however,  called  the  live  oak,  grown 
in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  continent,  is  said  to  be  equal,  if 

suckle  and  hedysarum.  They  sit  in  a  circle  round  the  stem's  ex- 
tremity, and  have  either  a  dark  red  or  lively  red  color ;  but  by  stand- 
ing some  time,  the  sun  bleaches  them,  and  at  last  they  get  a  whitish 
hue.  The  height  of  the  bush  is  not  always  alike.  Some  were  as  tall 
as  a  full-grown  man,  and  taller ;  others  were  but  low,  and  some  were 
not  above  a  palm  from  the  ground ;  yet  they  were  all  full  of  flowers. 
They  have  some  smell,  but  I  can  not  say  it  is  very  pleasant.  How- 
ever, the  beauty  of  the  color  entitles  them  to  a  place  in  every  flower 
garden.'  " — Travels  in  North  America^  by  Professor  Kalm,  in  Pinker- 
ton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  557.  *  See  Appendix,  No.  XXVII. 

t  The  oak  from  the  dense  forests  of  Canada,  into  which  the  sun's 
rays  never  penetrate,  is  more  porous,  more  abundant  in  sap,  and  more 
prone  to  the  dry  rot  than  the  oak  grown  in  any  other  country.  Canadian 
timber  has  increased  in  value  since  the  causes  of  its  former  rapid  decay 
have  been  more  fully  understood.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Gould  asserts  that 
the  wane  of  the  moon  is  now  universally  considered  the  best  season  for 
felling  timber,  both  in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada.  The  Americans 
contract  for  their  ship  timber  to  be  felled  or  girdled  between  the  20th 
of  October  and  the  12th  of  February.  Dry  rot  being  probably  caused 
by  the  natural  moisture  or  sap  being  left  in  the  wood,  the  less  there 
is  in  the  tree  when  cut,  the  longer  it  will  keep  sound.  As  regards 
the  Canadian  oak,  it  is  stated  by  Mr.  M'Taggart  (the  engineer,  who 
so  ably  distinguished  himself  while  in  the  colony),  that  it  is  not  .so 
durable  as  that  of  the  British,  the  fiber  not  being  so  compact  and 
strong  ;  it  grows  in  extensive  groves  near  the  banks  of  large  lakes  and 
rivers,  sometimes  found  growing  to  50  feet  in  length  by  2  feet  6  inches; 
its  specific  gravity  is  greater  than  water,  and  therefore,  when  floated 
down  in  rafts,  it  is  rendered  buoyant  with  cross  bars  of  pine.  It  is 
easily  squared  with  the  hatchet,  and  answers  well  for  ship-building 
and  heavy  work ;  will  endure  the  seasons  for  about  fifteen  years,^ 
and  does  not  decay  in  England  so  soon  as  in  Canada. — Montgomery 
Martin's  Canada,  p.  257 ;  Gray's  Canada,  p.  207. 

•  Kalm  says,  in  1748,  "  They  were  now  building  several  ships  below  Quebec  for  the 
king's  account.  However,  before  my  departure,  an  order  arrived  from  France  prohibit- 
ing the  further  building  of  ships  of  war,  because  they  had  found  that  the  ships  built 
of  American  oak  do  not  last  so  long  as  those  of  European  oak.  Near  Quebec  is  found 
very  little  oak,  and  what  grows  there  is  not  fit  for  use,  being  very  small ;  therefore 
they  are  obliged  to  fetch  their  oak  timber  from  those  parts  of  Canada  which  border 
upon  New  England.  But  all  the  North  American  oaks  have  the  quality  of  lasting  longer, 
and  withstanding  putrefaction  better,  the  further  north  they  grow." — Kalm,  p.  6fi3. 


140  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

not  superior,  to  any  iu  Europe  lor  ship-building.  The  white 
oak  is  the  best  found  in  the  Canadian  settlements,  and  is  in 
high  repute.  Another  description  is  called  the  scrubby  oak 
— it  resembles  the  British  gnarled  oak,  and  is  remarkably 
hard  and  dui'able.  The  birch*  tribe  is  very  numerous  : 
the  bark  is  much  used  by  the  Indians  in  making  canoes, t 
baskets,  and  roofings  ;  the  wood  is  of  a  useful  quality,  and 
the  sap,  when  extracted  in  the  spring,  produces  by  fermenta- 
tion a  pleasant  but  weak  wine.  The  maple  t  is  one  of  the 
most  variable  and  beautiful  of  all  the  forest  trees,  and  is 
adopted  as  the  emblem  of  Canadian  nationality. 

Two  plants,  formerly  of  great  importance  in  these  counties, 
are  now  almost  extirpated,  or  little  noticed  as  articles  of  com- 
merce— ginseng^    and  capillaire.      The  first  was  found  in 

*  The  most  useful  American  plants  in  the  small  order  Betulaceae 
are  the  birches,  of  which  Canada  contains  six  species.  The  most 
celebrated  is  Betula  Papyracea,  the  canoe  birch,  so  called  from  the 
use  made  of  the  bark  in  the  construction  of  the  Indian  boats.  It  ex 
tends  from  the  shore  of  the  Hudson  in  New  York  to  a  considerable 
range  of  country  northward  of  Canada.  The  bark  is  obtained  with 
facility  in  large  pieces,  and  is  sewed  together  with  the  tough  and 
slender  roots  of  the  pine-tree.  La  Hontan  relates  a  characteristic 
story  respecting  the  birch  bark  :  "  I  remember  I  have  seen,  in  a  cer- 
tain library  in  France,  a  manuscript  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew, 
written  in  Greek  upon  this  sort  of  bark ;  and  which  is  yet  more  sur- 
prising, I  was  there  told  that  it  had  been  written  above  a  thousand 
years;  and,  at  the  same  time,  I  dare  swear  that  it  was  the  genuine 
birch  bark  of  New  France,  which,  in  all  appearance,  was  not  then 
discovered." — La  Hontan,  in  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  361. 

Mr.  Weld  says  that  "  the  bark  resembles  in  some  degree  that  of  the 
cork-tree,  but  it  is  of  a  closer  grain,  and  also  much  more  pliable,  for 
it  admits  of  being  rolled  up  the  same  as  a  piece  of  cloth.  The  Indians 
of  this  part  of  the  country  always  carry  large  rolls  of  it  in  their  canoes 
when  they  go  on  a  hunting  party,  for  the  purpo.se  of  making  temporary 
huts.  The  bark  is  spread  on  small  poles  over  their  heads,  and  fastened 
with  strips  of  elm  bark,  which  is  remarkably  tough,  to  stakes,  so  as 
to  form  walls  on  the  sides."' — Weld,  p.  311. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  XXVIII. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  XXIX. 

^  The  ginseng  belongs  to  the  small  order  Araliaceaj.  The  botanical 
name  is  Panax  quinquefolium  :  it  was  called  Aureliana  Canadensis  by 
Lafitau,  who  was  the  first  to  bring  it  from  Canada  to  France. — 
(Charlevoix,  tom.  iv.,  p.  309,  fig.  13.)  It  was  discovered  in  the 
forests  (jf  Canada  in   1718.      It  is  herbaceous,  scarcely  a  foot  and  a 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  141 

great  abundance  by  the  French  in  their  earlier  settlement 
ol  the  colony,  and  large  quantities  were  exported  to  Europe, 

half  in  height,  and  toward  the  upper  part  of  the  stem  arise  three 
quinate-digitate  leaves,  from  the  center  of  which  springs  the  flower 
stalk.  The  root  is  fusiform  and  fleshy,  and  is  the  part  most  valued. 
We  are  informed  that  among  the  Chinese  many  volumes  have  been 
written  upon  its  virtues  ;  and  that,  besides  the  name  already  mentioned, 
it  is  known  by  several  others,  expressive  of  the  high  estimation  in 
which  it  is  universally  held  throughout  the  Celestial  Empire ;  two  of 
these  appellations  are,  '  the  pure  spirit  of  the  earth,'  and  '  the  plant 
that  gives  immortality.'  An  ounce  of  ginseng  bears  the  surprising 
price  of  seven  or  eight  ounces  of  silver  at  Pekin.  When  the  French 
botanists  in  Canada  first  saw  a  figure  of  it,  they  remembered  to  have 
seen  a  similar  plant  in  this  country.  They  were  confirmed  in  their 
conjecture  by  considering  that  several  settlements  in  Canada  lie  under 
the  same  latitude  M'ith  those  parts  of  Chinese  Tartary  and  China  where 
the  true  ginseng  grows  wild.  They  succeeded  in  their  attempt,  and 
found  the  same  ginseng  wild  and  abundant  in  several  parts  of  North 
America,  both  in  French  and  English  plantations,  in  plain  parts  of  the 
woods.  It  is  fond  of  shade,  and  of  a  deep,  rich  mold,  and  of  land 
which  is  neither  wet  nor  high.  It  is  not  every  where  very  common, 
for  sometimes  one  may  search  the  woods  for  the  space  of  several  miles 
without  finding  a  single  plant  of  it ;  but  in  those  spots  where  it  grows 
it  is  always  found  in  great  abundance.  It  flowers  in  May  and  June, 
and  its  berries  are  ripe  at  the  end  of  August.  The  trade  which  is 
carried  on  with  it  here  is  very  brisk,  for  they  gather  great  quantities 
of  it,  and  send  them  to  France,  from  whence  they  are  brought  to  China, 
and  sold  there  to  great  advantage.  The  Indians  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Montreal  were  so  taken  up  with  the  business  of  collecting  ginseng, 
that  the  French  farmers  were  not  able  during  that  time  to  hire  a  single 
Indian,  as  they  commonly  do,  to  help  them  in  the  harvest.  The  ginseng 
formerly  grew  in  abundance  round  Montreal,  but  at  present  there  is  not 
a  single  plant  of  it  to  be  found,  so  effectually  have  they  been  rooted 
out.  This  obliged  the  Indians  this  summer  to  go  far  within  the  English 
boundaries  to  collect  these  roots.  After  the  Indian';  have  sold  the  fresh 
I'oots  to  the  merchants,  the  latter  must  take  a  great  deal  of  pains  with 
them.  They  are  spread  on  the  floor  to  dry,  which  commonly  requires 
two  months  and  upward,  according  as  the  season  is  wet  or  dry.  During 
that  time  they  must  be  turned  once  or  twice  every  day,  lest  they  should 
putrefy  or  molder.  The  roots  prepared  by  the  Chinese  are  almost 
transparent,  and  look  like  horn  in  the  inside ;  and  the  roots  which  are 
fit  for  use  are  heavy  and  compact  in  the  inside.  No  one  has  ever  dis- 
covered the  Chinese  method  of  preparing  it.  It  is  thought,  among 
other  preparations,  they  dip  the  roots  in  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  of 
ginseng."  Kalni  wrote  thus  of  the  ginseng  in  1749  (Kalra,  in  Pinker- 
ton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  (i39).  Mr.  Heriot  mentions  that  "one  article  of  com- 
merce the  Canadians  had,  by  their  own  imprudence,  rendered  altogether 


142  THE    COiNUUKST    OF    CANADA. 

from  whence  it  was  forwarded  to  China.  The  high  value 
it  then  possessed  iia  that  distant  market  induced  the  Cana- 
dians to  collect  the  roots  prematurely ;  and  the  Indians  also 
gathered  them  wherever  they  could  be  found ;  consequently, 
this  useful  production  was  soon  exhausted,  and  is  now  rarely 
seen.     The  capillaire  *  is  now  either  become  rare  or  neglected 

unprofitable.  From  the  lime  that  Canada  ginseng  had  been  imported 
to  Canton,  and  its  quality  pronounced  equal  to  that  of  Coiea  or  Tar- 
tary,  a  pound  of  this  plant,  which  before  sold  in  Quebec  for  twenty 
pence,  became,  when  its  value  was  once  ascertained,  worth  one  pound 
and  tenpence  sterling.  The  export  of  this  article  amounted  in  1752 
to  o£20,000  sterling.  But  the  Canadians,  eager  suddenly  to  enrich 
themselves,  reaped  this  plant  in  May  when  it  should  not  have  been 
gathered  until  September,  and  dried  it  in  ovens  w^hen  its  moisture 
.should  have  been  gradually  evaporated  in  the  shade.  This  fatal  mis- 
take, arising  from  cupidity,  and  in  some  measure  from  ignorance, 
ruined  the  sale  of  their  ginseng  among  the  only  people  on  earth  who 
are  partial  to  its  use,  and  at  an  early  period  cut  off  from  the  colony  a 
new  branch  of  trade,  which,  under  proper  regulations,  might  have  been 
essentially  productive."" — Heriots  Travels  through  the  Canadas,  p.  99, 
1807. 

"  Mountainous  woods  in  Tartary  are  mentioned  as  the  place  where 
the  ginseng  is  produced  in  the  greatest  abundance.  In  ]  709,  the  em- 
peror ordered  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men  to  collect  all  the  ginseng 
they  could  find,  and  each  person  was  to  give  him  two  ounces  of  the 
best,  while  for  the  remainder  payment  was  to  be  made  in  silver,  weight 
for  weight.  It  was  in  the  same  year  that  Father  Jurtoux,  a  Jesuit 
missionary  in  China,  prepared  a  figure  and  accurate  description  of  the 
plant,  in  which  he  bears  testimony  to  the  beneficial  effects  of  the  root. 
He  tried  it  in  many  instances  himself,  and  always  with  the  same  result, 
especially  when  exhausted  with  fatigue,  llis  pulse  was  increased,  his 
appetite  improved,  and  his  whole  frame  invigorated.  Judging  from 
the  accounts  before  us,  we  should  say  that  the  Chinese  were  extravagant 
in  their  ideas  of  the  virtues  of  this  herb  ;  but  that  it  is  undoubtedly  a 
cordial  stimulant,  to  be  compared,  perhaps,  in  some  degree,  with  the 
aromatic  root  of  Meum  athamanticum,  so  much  esteemed  by  the  Scot- 
tish Highlanders.  It  has  nevertheless  disappeared  from  our  Materia 
Medica." — Murray's  Canada,  vol.  iii.,  p.  308.  Charlevoix,  torn,  vi., 
p.  24. 

"Ginseng  a  veritablement  la  vertu  de  soutenir,  de  fortifier,  et  dc 
rappeller  les  forces  epuisees.'" — Lafitau,  torn,  ii.,  p.  142. 

*  In  La  Hontans  time  (1683),  he  speaks  of  "maiden-hair"  being 
as  common  in  the  forests  of  Canada  as  I'ern  in  those  of  France,  and  is 
esteemed  beyond  that  of  other  countries,  insomuch  that  the  inhabitants 
of  Quebec  prepare  great  quantities  of  its  syrup,  which  they  send  to 
Paris,  Nantes.  Rouen,  and  several  other  cities  of  France.      Charlevoix 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  143 

for  other  objects;  a  small  quantity  is,  however,  still  exported. 
In  the  woods  there  is  a  vast  variety  of  wild  plants  and  flow- 
ers, many  of  them  very  beautiful.  The  sweet  garlic  espe- 
cially deserves  notice  :  two  large  pale-green  leaves  arise  from 
the  root ;  between  them  stands  the  delicate  stem,  about  a 
loot  in  height,  bearing  a  cluster  of  graceful  flowers,  resem- 
bling blue-bells  in  shape  and  color.  The  wild  turnip  is  also 
very  beautiful.  There  are,  besides,  many  valuable  herbs 
and  roots,  which  the  Indians  use  for  various  purposes.  The 
reindeer  moss*  often  serves  for  support  and  refreshment  to 

gives  a  figure  of  the  maiden-hair  (torn,  iv.,  p.  301),  under  the  name 
of  Adiantum  Americanum. — "  Cette  plante  a  la  racine  fort  petite,  et 
enveloppee  de  fibres  noires,  fort  deliees;  satige  est  d'un  pourpre  fonce. 
et  s'eleve  en  quelques  endroits  a  trois  ou  quatre  pieds  de  haut ;  il  en 
sort  des  branches,  qui  se  courbent  en  tous  sens.  Les  feuilles  sont  plus 
larges  que  celles  de  notre  Capillaire  de  France,  d'un  beau  verd  d'un 
cote,  et  de  I'autre,  semees  de  petits  points  obscurs ;  nulla  part  ailleurs 
cette  plante  n'est  si  haute  ni  si  vive,  qu'en  Canada.  Elle  n'a  aucune 
odeur  tandis  qu'elle  est  sur  pied,  mais  quand  elle  a  ete  renfermee,  elle 
repand  une  odeur  de  violette,  qui  embaume.  Sa  qualite  est  aussi  beau- 
coup  audessus  de  tous  les  autres  capillaires." 

The  Herba  capillaris  is  the  Adiantum  pedatum  of  Linnseus  (Sp.  PI., 
p.  1557).  Cornutus,  in  his  Canadens.  Plant.  Historia,  p.  7,  calls  it 
Adiantum  Americanum,  and  gives  a  figure  of  it,  p.  6.  Kalm  says 
that  "  it  grows  in  all  the  British  colonies  of  America,  and  likewise  in 
the  southern  parts  of  Canada,  but  I  never  found  it  near  Quebec.  It 
grows  in  the  woods  in  shady  places,  and  in  a  good  soil.  Several 
people  in  Albany  and  Canada  assured  me  that  its  leaves  were  very 
much  used  instead  of  tea  in  consumptions,  coughs,  and  all  kinds  of 
pectoral  diseases.  This  they  have  learned  from  the  Indians,  who 
have  made  use  of  it  for  these  purposes  from  lime  immemorial.  Thi.'i 
American  maiden-hair  is  reckoned  preferable  in  surgery  to  that  which 
we  have  in  Europe,  and  therefore  they  send  a  great  quantity  of  it  to 
France  every  year.  Commonly  the  price  at  Quebec  is  between  five 
and  fifteen  sols  a  pound.  The  Indians  went  into  the  woods  about  this 
time  (August),  and  traveled  far  above  Montreal  in  quest  of  this  plant." 
— Kalm,  in  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  641. 

*  "  This  moss  is  called  by  the  Canadian  voyageurs,  Tripe  de  Roche  ; 
it  belongs  to  the  order  Gyrophara.  They  who  have  perused  the 
aflecting  narrative  of  the  sufl"erings  of  Captain  Franklin  and  his  gal- 
lant party,  on  their  return  from  their  first  journey  to  the  Arctic  Sea, 
will  remember  that  it  was  on  Tripe  de  Roche  that  they  depended, 
under  God,  for  their  very  existence.  '  We  looked,'  says  Captain 
Franklin,  '  with  humble  confidence  to  the  Great  Author  and  giver  of 
all  good,  for  a  continuance  of  the  support  which  had  been  hitherto 


144  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  exhausted  hunter  ;  when  boiled  down  into  a  liquid,  it  is 
very  nourishing  ;  and  an  herb  called  Indian  tea  produces  a 
pleasant  and  wholesome  draught,  with  a  rich  aromatic  flavor. 
Wild  oats  and  rice*  are  found  in  some  of  the  marshy  lands. 
The  soil  and  climate  are  also  favorable  to  the  production  of 
hops  and  a  mild  tobacco,  much  esteemed  for  the  manufacture 
of  snuff".  Hemp  t  and  flax  are  both  indigenous  in  America. 
Father  Hennepin,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  found  the 
former  growing  wild  in  the  country  of  the  Illinois  ;  and  Sir 
Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  his  travels  to  the  western  coast, 
met  with  flax  in  the  interior,  where  no  European  was  ever 
known  to  have  been  before.  The  Indian  hempt  is  seen  in 
abundance  upon  the  Canadian  soil,  particularly  in  light  and 
sandy  places  ;  the  bark  is  so  strong  that  the  natives  use  it 
for  bow-strings  ;  the  pod  bears  a  substance  that  rivals  down 
in  softness  and  elasticity  ;  the  culture  is  easy  ;  the  root, 
penetrating  deep  into  the  earth,  survives  the  frosts  of  winter, 
and  shoots  out  fresh  stalks  every  spring.      When  five  or  six 

always  supplied  to  us  at  our  greatest  need,'  and  he  was  not  disap- 
pointed."— Murray's  Canada,  vol.  iii.,  p.  330.  "  Parmi  les  sauvages 
erran.s,  et  qui  ne  cultivent  point  du  tout  la  terre,  lorsque  la  chasse  et 
la  pcclie  lour  manquent,  leur  uniijue  ressource  est  une  espece  de 
mousse,  qui  croit  sur  certains  rochers,  et  que  nos  Fran^ais  ont  nom- 
niee  Tripe  de  Roche ;  rien  n'est  plus  insipide  que  ce  nnets,  lequel  n'a 
pas  menie  beaucoup  de  substance,  c'est  bien  la  etre  rcduit  au  pur 
nccessaire  pour  ne  pas  mourir  de  faim."' — Charlevoix,  torn,  vi.,  p.  24. 

*   See  Appendix,  No.  XXX.  I  Sec  Appendix,  No.  XXXI. 

t  "The  Swedes  gave  the  name  of  Indian  hemp  to  Apocynum  can- 
nabinum,  because  the  Indians  apply  it  to  the  same  purposes  as  the 
Europeans  do  hemp ;  for  the  stalk  may  be  divided  into  filaments,  and 
is  easily  prepared.  This  plant  frrows  in  abundance  in  old  corn 
grounds,  in  woods,  on  hills,  and  on  high  glades.  The  Indians  make 
ropes  of  this  Apocynum,  which  the  Swedes  buy,  and  employ  them  as 
bridles,  and  tor  nets.  Tiiesc  rojies  are  stronger,  and  kept  longer  in 
water  than  such  as  were  made  of  common  hemp.  The  Swedes  com- 
monly got  fourteen  vards  of  these  ropes  for  one  piece  of  breaii.  On 
my  journey  throuirh  the  country  of  the  Irotjuois,  1  saw  the  women 
employed  in  manufacturinff  this  hemp.  The  plant  is  perennial,  which 
renders  the  annual  ])lantini{  of  it  altorrcther  unnecessary.  Out  of  the 
root  and  stalk  of  this  plant,  when  it  is  fresh,  comes  a  white,  milky 
juice,  which  is  somewhat  poisonous.  Sometimes  the  fishing  tackle 
of  the  Indian  consists  entirely  of  this  hemp."" — Kalm,  in  Pinkerton. 
vol    xiii  .  p.  .541 


THE    CuXUUHiJT    Ui'    CAN'AUA.  145 

years  old  it  attains  the  gi'eatest  perfection.  It  may  be  added 
that  in  these  favored  provinces  all  European  plants,  fruits, 
vegetables,  grain,*  legumes,  and  every  other  production  of 
the  earth  required  for  the  subsistence  or  luxury  of  man,  yield 
their  increage  even  more  abundantly  than  in  the  old  conti- 
nents. 

The  animals  originally  belonging  to  America  appear  to  be 
of  an  inferior  race — neither  so  robust,  fierce,  or  numerous  as 
those  of  the  other  continents  :  some  are  peculiar  to  the  New 
World  ;  but  there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  several  species 
have  become  utterly  extinct,  and  the  spread  of  cultivation 
and  increase  of  the  human  race  rapidly  extirpate  many  of 
those  that  still  remain.  America  gives  birth  to  no  creature 
of  equal  bulk  to  the  elephant  and  rhinoceros,  or  of  equal 
strength  and  ferocity  to  the  lion  and  tiger.  The  particular 
qualities  in  the  climate,  stinting  the  growth  and  enfeebling 
the  spirit  of  the  native  animals,  have  also  proved  injurious 
to  such  as  have  been  transported  to  the  Canadas  by  their 
present  Euroj^eau  inhabitants.  The  soil,  as  well  as  temper- 
ature, of  the  country  seems  to  be  rather  unfavorable  to  the 
development  of  strength  and  perfection  in  the  animal  crea- 
tion.! The  general  quality  of  the  natural  grasses  covering 
those  boundless  pastures  is  not  good  or  sufficiently  nutritious. $ 

The  native  animals  of  Canada  arc  the  buffalo,  bison,  and 
musk  bull,  belonging  to  the  ox  kind.      The  buffalo  is  still 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXII. 

t  Buffon,  Hist.  Nat.,  torn,  ix.,  p.  13,  203;  Acosta.  Hist.,  lib.  iv., 
cap.  xxxiv. ;  Pisonis  Hist.,  p.  6 ;  Herrera,  Dec.  IV.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  i. ; 
lib.  X.,  cap.  xiii. 

t  Canada  has  not  the  fine  natural  pastures  of  Ireland,  E norland, 
Holland,  and  other  countries  enjoying  a  cool,  moist,  and  equable  cli- 
mate. Artificial  grasses,  now  a  most  valuable  branch  of  British  hus- 
bandry, are  peculiarly  important  in  Canada,  where  so  large  a  quantity 
of  hay  should  be  stored  for  winter  use.  They  are  also  most  useful  in 
preparing  the  soil  for  grain  crops,  but  have  the  disadvantage  of  re- 
quiring to  stand  the  severe  winter,  so  trying  to  all  except  annual 
plants.  Clover,  which  is  supposed  to  yield  three  times  the  produce 
of  natural  grass,  grows  luxuriantly ;  but  in  the  second  year  its  roots 
are  often  found  to  have  been  destroyed  by  frost.  For  this  reason,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  species  named  Timothy^  which  is 
extremely  hardv,  and  will  set  at  defiance  even  a  Canadian  winter. — 
Talbot,  vol.  i.,  p.  30  4 ;  Gould,  p.  67. 
VOL.  I. — G 


146  THE  COXaUEST  Ol''  CANADA. 

found  in  herds  of  immense  numbers  upon  the  prairies  of  the 
remote  western  country,  where  they  have  wandered  from 
the  hated  neighborhood  of  civihzed  man  :  the  skin*  is  in- 
valuable to  the  Canadians  as  a  protection  from  the  keen 
wintery  air,  and  is  abundantly  supplied  to  them  by  the 
hunters  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  t  This  animal  is 
about  the  size  of  an  ox,  with  the  head  disproportiouably 
large  ;  he  is  of  a  lighter  color,  less  ferocious  aspect,  and  in- 
ferior strength  to  those  of  the  Old  World.  Both  the  bison 
and  musk  ox  are  varieties  of  the  domestic  cow,  with  a  cover- 
ing of  shaggy  hair  ;  they  possess  considerable  strength  and 
activity.  There  are  difl'erent  descriptions  of  deer  :  the  black 
and   gray  moose  or  elk,  the  cariboo  or  reindeer, -t  the  stag^ 

*  "  In  the  western  parts  of  Lower  Canada,  and  throughout  Upper 
Canada,  where  it  is  customary  for  travelers  to  carry  their  own  betiding 
with  them,  these  skins  are  very  generally  made  use  of  for  the  purpose 
of  sleeping  upon.  For  upward  of  two  months  ve  scarcely  ever  had 
any  other  bed  than  one  of  the  skins  spread  on  the  floor  and  a  blanket 
to  each  person.  The  skins  are  dressed  by  the  Indians  with  the  hair 
on,  and  they  arc  rendered  by  a  peculiar  process  as  pliable  as  cloth. 
When  the  buHiilo  is  killed  in  the  beginning  of  the  winter,  at  which 
time  he  is  fenced  against  the  cold,  the  hair  resembles  very  much  that 
of  a  black  bear ;  it  is  then  long,  straight,  and  of  a  blackish  color ;  but 
when  the  animal  is  killed  in  the  summer,  the  hair  is  short  and  curly, 
and  of  a  light  brown  color,  owing  to  its  being  scorched  by  the  rays 
of  the  sun." — Weld,  p.  313. 

t  Charlevoix  sa3-s,  "(jue  la  pcan,  ijuoique  tres  forte,  devient  souple 
ct  raoelleusc  commc  le  meilleur  chamois.  Les  saiivages  en  font  des 
boucliers,  (jni  sont  tres  legers,  et  que  les  bals  de  fusil  ne  perfent  pas 
aisemept.'" — Tom.  v.,  p.  193. 

t  The  height  of  the  domesticated  reindeer  is  about  three  feet ;  of 
the  wild  ones,  four.  It  lives  to  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  The  rein- 
deer is  a  native  of  the  northern  regions  only.  In  America  it  does  not 
extend  further  south  than  Canada.  The  Indians  often  kill  numbers 
for  the  sake  of  their  tongue  only ;  at  other  times  they  separate  the 
flesh  from  the  bones,  and  preserve  it  by  drying  it  in  the  smoke.  The 
fat  they  sell  to  the  English,  who  use  it  for  frying  instead  of  butter. 
The  skins,  also,  are  an  article  of  extensive  commerce  with  the  En- 
glish.— Rees's  Cyclopadia,  art.  Cervus  Tarandus. 

Charlevoix  says  that  the  Cnnadian  caribuu  di(fer.'5  in  nothing  from 
the  Renne  of  Butlbn  except  in  the  color  of  its  skin,  which  is  brown  or 
reddish. — Tom.  v.,  p.  191.  La  Honlan  calls  the  caribou  a  species  of 
wild  a.ss  •,  and  Charlevoix  says  that  its  form  resembles  that  of  the  ass, 
but  that  it  at  lea.st  equals  the  stag  in  agility. 

§  Pennant  is  persuaded  that  the  stag  is  not  a  native  of  America, 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  147 

and  fallow  deer.*  The  moose  deert  is  the  largest  wild 
animal  of  the  continent ;  it  is  often  seen  upward  of  ten  feet 
high,  and  weighing  twelve  hundred  weight ;  though  savage 
in  aspect,  the  creature  is  generally  timid  and  inoffensive  even 
when  attacked  by  the  hunter,  and,  like  the  sheep,  may  be 
easily  domesticated  :  the  flesh  and  skin  are  both  of  some  value. 
The  black  and  brown  bear^  is  found  in  various  parts  of 
America,  but  chiefly  in  the  northwest :  some  few  are  seen 
in  the  forests  to  the  north  of  Quebec.  This  animal  chooses 
for  his  lurking-place  the  hollow  trunk  of  an  old  tree,  which 
he  prepares  with  sticks  and  branches,  and  a  coating  of  warm 
moss  ;  on  the  approach  of  the  cold  season  he  retires  to  his 
lair,  and  sleeps  through  the  long  winter  till  the  return  of 
spring  enables  him  again  to  seek  his  prey.  The  bear  is 
rather  shy  than  fierce,  but  very  powerful  and  dangerous 
when  driven  to  extremities  ;  he  displays  a  strong  degree  of 
instinct,  and  is  very  dexterous  and  cunning  in  procuring  food  : 
the  flesh  is  considered  a  delicacy,  and  the  skin  highly  prized 
for  beauty  and  warmth.  Foxes  ^  are  numerous  ;  they  are 
of  various  colors  and  very  cunning.  Hares  ||  are  abundant, 
and  turn  white  in  winter  like  those  of  Norway.  The  wol- 
verine or  carcajou  is  called  by  the  hunters  beaver-eater,  and 
somewhat  resembles  a  badger ;  the  skin  is  soft  and  hand- 
some.     A  species  of  porcupine  or  urchin  is  found  to   the 


and  considers  the  deer  known  in  that  country  by  the  name  of  stag  as 
a  distinct  species.  The  American  stag  is  the  Cervus  Canadensis  of 
Erxleben.  The  Americans  hunt  and  shoot  those  animals  not  so  much 
for  the  sake  of  the  flesh  as  of  the  fat,  which  serves  as  tallow  in  mak- 
ing candles,  and  the  skins,  which  they  dispose  of  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  They  are  caught  principally  in  the  inland  parts,  near  the 
vicinity  of  the  lakes. — Rees's  CydopcBdia,  art.  Cervus  Elaphus. 

Charlevoix  says  that  "  le  Cerf  en  Canada  est  absolument  le  memo 
qu'en  France,  peut  etre  communement  un  peu  plus  grand." — Tom. 
v.,  p.  189. 

*  The  fallow  deer  in  America  have  been  introduced  there  from 
Europe;  for  the  animal  called  the  American  fallow  is  of  a  very  differ- 
ent kind,  and  is  peculiar  to  the  New  Continent.  This,  the  Cervus 
Virginianus,  inhabits  all  the  provinces  south  of  Canada. — Rees's  Cy- 
clopedia, art.  Cervus  Virginianus. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXIII.       t  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXIV. 

§  See  Appendix,  No,  XXXV.         I|  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXVI. 


148  'i'llii    CoN^UKriT    OF    CANADA. 

northward,  and  supplies  the  Indians  with  quills  about  four 
inches  lonj^,  M'hich,  when  dyed,  are  worked  into  showy  orna- 
ments. Squirrels*  and  various  other  small  quadrupeds  with 
fine  furs  are  abundant  in  the  forests.  The  animals  of  the 
cat  kind  are  the  cougar  or  American  lion,  the  loup-cervier, 
the  catamount,  and  the  manguay  or  lynx. 

Beavers  t  are  numerous  in  North  America ;  these  am- 
phibious animals  are  about  two  feet  nine  inches  in  length, 
•with  very  short  fore  feet  and  divided  toes,  while  the  hinder 
are  membranous,  and  adapted  for  swimming  ;  the  body  is 
covered  with  a  soft,  glossy,  and  valuable  fur  ;  the  tail  is 
oval,  scaly,  destitute  of  hair,  and  about  a  foot  long.  These 
industrious  creatures  dam  up  considerable  streams,  and  con- 
struct dwellings  of  many  compartments,  to  protect  them 
from  the  rigor  of  the  climate,  as  well  as  from  their  numer- 
ous enemies  ;  their  winter  food,  consisting  of  poplar  logs, 
pieces  of  willows,  alder,  and  fragments  of  other  trees,  is  col- 
lected in  autumn,  and  sunk  in  the  water  near  the  habita- 
tion. The  beaver  exhibits  an  extraordinary  degree  of  in- 
stinct, and  may  be  easily  tamed ;  when  caught  or  surprised 
by  the  approach  of  axi  enemy,  it  gives  warning  to  its  com- 
panions by  striking  the  water  with  the  flat  of  its  tail.  The 
musk  rat  and  otter  resemble  the  beaver  in  some  of  their  hab- 
its, but  are  inferior  in  ingenuity,  and  of  less  value  to  the 
hunter. 

The  walrus  has  now  disappeared  from  the  frequented 
waters  of  the  G-ulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  but  is  still  found  on 
the  northern  coasts  of  Labrador  ;  in  shape  he  somewhat 
resembles  the  seal,  but  is  of  much  greater  size,  sometimes 
weighing  4000  pounds;  when  protecting  their  young,  or 
when  wounded,  they  are  dangerous  from  their  immense  tusks ; 
when  out  of  the  water,  however,  they  are  very  helpless. 

Nearly  all  these  wild  animals  are  pursued  by  the  Indians, 
and  the  hunters  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  J  for  their 
skins ;  they  arc  consequently  growing  rarer,  and  their  haunts 
become  more  remote  each  succeeding  year  :  probably,  at  no 
distant  time,  they  will  be  altogether  extinct. 

•  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXVII.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXVIII. 

t  See  Appendix.  No.  XXXIX 


THE  CONQI'EST  OF  CANADA.  149 

The  birds  of  Canada  differ  little  from  those  of  the  same 
names  in  Europe,  but  the  severe  climate  is  generally  uncon- 
genial to  them.  There  are  eagles,  vultures,  hawks,  falcons, 
kites,  owls,  ravens,  crows,  rooks,  jays,  magpies,  daws,  cuck- 
oos, woodpeckers,  hoopers,  creepers,  humming-birds,  thrush- 
es, blackbirds,  linnets,  finches,  sparrows,  fly-catchers,  pigeons, 
turkeys,  ducks,  geese,  swans,  grouse,  ptarmigans,  snipes, 
quails,  and  many  others.  The  plumage  of  the  American 
birds  is  very  brilliant ;  but  the  sweet  voices  that  fill  the 
European  woods  with  melody  are  never  heard.  Many  of 
the  birds  of  Lower  Canada  are  migratory  ;  the  water-fowl 
seek  the  cooler  north  during  the  heat  of  summer,  and  other 
species  fly  to  the  south  to  shun  the  wintery  frosts.  In  the 
milder  latitudes  of  Upper  Canada,  birds  are  more  numerous. 
They  are  known  by  the  same  names  as  those  of  correspond- 
ing species  in  England,  but  difier  from  them  to  some  extent 
in  plumage  and  character. 

In  Lower  Canada  the  reptiles  are  few  and  innocuous, 
and  even  these  are  not  met  with  in  the  cultivated  parts  of 
the  country.  In  the  Upper  Province,  however,  they  are 
more  numerous ;  some  species  are  very  dangerous,  others 
harmless  and  exquisitely  beautiful.  Two  kinds  of,  rattle* 
snakes*  are  found  here  :  one  of  a  deep  brown  and  yellow 
color,  and  seldom  more  than  thirty  inches  in  length  ;  it  fre- 
quents marshes  and  low  meadows,  and  is  very  dangerous  to 
cattle,  often  fastening  its  fangs  upon  their  lips  while  grazing. 
The  other  is  a  bright  greenish  yellow  clouded  with  brown, 
and  twice  the  size  of  the  former.  These  reptiles  are  thicker 
in  proportion  to  their  length  than  any  others  ;  the  rattle  is 
at  the  end  of  the  tail,  and  consists  of  a  number  of  dry, 
horny  shells  inclosed  within  each  other.  When  wounded 
or  enraged,  the  skin  of  the  rattlesnake  assumes  a  variety  of 
beautiful  colors  ;  the  flesh  is  white  as  that  of  the  most  del- 
icate fish,  and  is  esteemed  a  great  luxury  by  the  Indians. 
Cold  weather  weakens  or  destroys  their  poisonous  qualities. 
Ill  the  spring,  when  they  issue  from  their  place  of  winter 
concealment,  they  are  harmless  till  they  have  got  to  water, 
and  at  that  time  emit  a  sickening  smell  so  as  to  injure  those 
*  See  Appendix,  No.  XL. 


150  TUG    CONQF'EST    OF  ,C'A\ADA. 

who  hunt  them.  In  some  of  the  remoter  districts  they  are 
still  numerous,  but  in  the  long-settled  parts  of  the  country 
they  are  now  rarely  or  never  seen. 

Several  varieties  of  lizards  and  froijs  abound  ;  the  latter 
make  an  astonishing  noise  in  marshy  places  during  the  sum- 
mer evening  by  their  harsh  croaking.  The  land  crab  is 
found  on  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Erie.  A  small  tor- 
toise, called  a  terrapin,*  is  taken  in  some  rivers,  creeks,  and 
swampy  grounds,  and  is  used  as  an  article  of  food.  Seals 
have  been  occasionally  seen  on  the  islands  in  Lake  Ontario. 

Insects!  are  very  numerous  and  various,  some  of  them 
both  troublesome  and  mischievous  :   locusts  or  grasshoppers 

*  "  While  we  were  roaming  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  we 
caught  a  species  of  tortoise  (testudo  picta),  which  was  a  gayly-colored 
shell,  and  I  carried  it  a  day's  journey  in  the  carriage,  and  then  turned 
it  out,  to  see  whether,  as  I  was  told,  it  would  know  its  way  bark  to 
Lake  Ontario.  I  am  bound  to  admit  that  its  instinct  on  this  occasion 
did  not  fail,  for  it  made  directly  for  a  ravine,  in  the  bottom  of  which 
was  a  stream  that  would  lead  it  in  time  to  the  Genesee  River,  and 
this  would  carry  it  to  its  native  lake  if  it  escaped  destruction  at  the 
Falls  below  Rochester,  where  the  celebrated  diver,  Sam  Patch,  per- 
ished, after  he  had  succeeded  in  throwing  himself  with  impunity  down 
several  other  great  waterfalls.  There  is  a  fresh-water  tortoise  in  Eu- 
rope (Terrapena  Europea)  found  in  Hungary,  Prussia,  and  Silesia,  as 
far  north  as  latitude  50°  to  52°.  It  also  occurs  near  Bordeaux,  and 
in  the  north  of  Italy,  44°  and  45°  north  latitude,  which  precisely  cor- 
responds with  the  latitude  of  Lake  Ontario." — LyelFs  Travels  in  North 
Amerira,  vol.  i.,  p.  25. 

t  "  To  the  Malacodermous  division  belongs  the  remarkable  genus 
Lampyris,  which  contains  the  insects  commonly  called  glow-worms. 
The  substance  from  which  the  luminous  property  results  has  been  the 
subject  of  frecjucnt  experiment  and  observation.  It  is  obviously  under 
the  control  of  the  animal,  which,  when  approached,  may  frequently 
be  observed  to  diminish  or  j)ut  out  its  light.  The  only  species  with 
which  we  are  acquainted  in  British  America  is  Lampyris  corusca.  It 
occurs  in  Canada,  and  has  been  taken  at  least  as  far  north  as  latitude 
54°.  It  was  originally  deserii>ed  by  Simmons  as  a  native  of  Finland 
and  Russia,  on  the  authority  of  Uddman,  but  has  not  since  been  found 
there." — Murray,  vol.  iii.,  p.  277. 

"  We  saw  numerous  yellow  butterflies,  very  like  a  British  species. 
Sometimes  forty  of  them  clustering  on  a  small  spot  resembled  a  plot 
of  primroses,  and  as  they  rose  altogether,  and  flow  oH"  slowly  on  every 
side,  it  was  like  the  [ilay  ol'  a  bcautifnl  fountain.'" — Lyell's  America, 
vol.  i.,  p.  25. 


TlIK    CONaUKST    01"    CANADA.  151 

have  been  known  to  cause  great  destrucliou  to  the  vegetable 
world.  Musquitoes  and  sand-flies  infest  the  woods,  and  the 
neighborhood  of  water,  in  incredible  numbers,  during  the 
hot  weather.  There  are  many  moths  and  butterflies  re- 
sembling those  seen  in  England.  The  beautiful  fire-fly  is 
very  common  in  Canada,  their  phosphorescent  light  shining 
with  wonderful  brightness  through  the  shady  forests  in  the 
summer  nights.  • 

The  lakes  and  rivers  of  Upper  Canada  abound  in  splen- 
did fish  of  almost  every  variety  known  in  England,  and  oth- 
ers peculiar  to  the  country  :  sturgeon  of  100  lbs.  weight  are 
frequently  taken,  and  a  giant  species  of  pike,  called  the  mask- 
enongi,  of  more  than  60  lbs.  The  trout  of  the  upper  lakes 
almost  rivals  the  sturgeon  in  size,  but  not  in  flavor.  The 
delicious  white-fish,  somewhat  resembling  a  shad,  is  very 
plentiful,  as  is  also  the  black  bass,  which  is  highly  prized. 
A  fresh- water  herring  abounds  in  great  shoals,  but  is  inferior 
in  delicacy  to  the  corresponding  species  of  the  salt  seas. 
Salmon  are  numerous  in  Lake  Ontario,  but  above  the  Falls 
of  Niagara  they  are  never  seen. 


CHAPTEPv  VI. 


Perhaps  the  saddest  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  sons  of 
Adam  is  furnished  by  the  Red  Man  of  America.  His  origin 
is  unknown  ;  no  records  tell  the  tale  of  his  ancient  deeds.  A 
foundling  in  the  human  family,  discovered  by  his  stronger 
brethren  wandering  wild  through  the  forests  and  over  the 
prairies  of  the  western  desert,  no  fraternal  welcome  greeted 
this  lost  child  of  nature  ;  no  soothing  voice  of  affection  fell 
upon  his  ear  ;  no  gentle  kindness  wooed  him  from  his'  savage 
isolation.  The  hand  of  irresistible  power  was  stretched  out, 
not  to  raise  him  from  his  low  estate  and  lead  him  into  the 
brotherhood  of  civilized  man,  but  to  thrust  him  away  with 
cruel  and  unjust  disdain. 

Little  more  than  three  centuries  and  a  half  have  elapsed 


>52  'vu'2  coxaiTEST  ok  c.axada. 

since  the  Indian  first  gazed  Avith  terror  and  admiration  upon 
the  white  strangers,  and  ah-eady  three  fourths  of  his  inherit- 
ance are  rent  away,  and  three  fourths  of  his  race  have  van- 
ished from  the  earth  ;  while  the  sad  remnant,  lew  and  fee- 
ble, faint  and  weary,  "  are  fast  traveling  to  the  shades  of 
their  fathers,  toward  the  setting  sun."*  Year  by  year  they 
wither  away  ;  to  them  the  close  breath  of  civilized  man  is 
more  destructive  than  the  deadliest  blight. f  The  arts  and 
appliances  which  the  accumulated  ingenuity  of  ages  has 
provided  to  aid  the  labor  and  enhance  the  enjoyments  of 
others,  have  been  but  a  curse  to  these  children  of  the  wil- 
derne.ss.  That  blessed  light  Avhich  shines  to  the  miserable 
of  this  world  through  the  vista  of  the  "  shadowy  valley," 
cheering  the  fainting  spirit  with  the  earnest  of  a  glorious 
future,  sheds  but  a  few  dim  and  distorted  rays  upon  the  out- 
skirts of  the  Red  ]\Ian's  forest  land. 

All  the  relations  of  Europeans  to  the  Indian  have  been 
alike  fatal  to  him,  whether  of  peace  or  war  ;  as  tyrants  or 
suppliants  ;  as  conquerors  armed  with  unknown  weapons 
of  destruction  ;  as  the  insidious  purchasers  of  his  hunting- 
grounds,  betraying  him  into  an  accursed  thirst  for  the  deadly 
fire-water  ;  as  the  greedy  gold-seekers,  crushing  his  feeble 
frame  under  the  hated  labors  of  the  mine  ;  as  shipwrecked 
and  hungry  wanderers,  while  receiving  his  simple  alms, 
marking   the   fertility  and   defenselessness  of  his   lands  ;   as 

*  "  Driven  by  the  European  populations  toward  the  northwest  of 
North  America,'  the  savage  tribes  are  returnintr,  by  a  singular  des- 
tiny, to  expire  on  the  same  shore  where  they  landed,  in  unknown  aj^es, 
to  take  possession  of  America.  In  the  Iroquois  langua<je,  the  Indians 
gave  themselves  the  appellation  of  Men  of  Jllways  (Ongoueonone) ; 
these  men  of  always  have  pa.s.sed  away,  and  the  stranger  will  soon 
have  left  to  the  lawful  heirs  of  a  whole  world  nothing  but  the  mold 
of  their  graves." — Chateaubriand's  Trawls  in  America  (Eng.  trans.), 
vol.  ii.,  p.  93.  t  See  Appendix,  No.  XLI. 

'  De  Tocqueville  c:ilciilaled  that  along  tlio  borders  of  the  United  States,  from  Lake 
Supcriur  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  extending  a  distance  of  more  tlian  1200  miles,  as  the 
bird  (lies,  the  whites  advance  every  yeiir  at  a  mean  r.ile  of  seventeen  miles  ;  and  he 
truly  ohservog  that  there  is  a  grandeur  and  solemnity  in  this  gradual  and  continuous 
inarch  of  the  European  race  toward  the  Rooky  Mountains.  He  compares  it  to  "  a 
deluge  of  men  rising,  unahalcdiy,  and  daily  driven  onward  by  the  hand  of  God."— 
Democracy  in  America,  vol.  ii.,  cap.  x.,  ^  4  ;  I/vell,  vol.  ii.,  p.  ". 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  153 

sick  men  enjoying  his  hospitality,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
imparting  that  terrible  disease*  which  has  swept  off  whole 
nations  ;  as  -woodmen  in  his  forest,  and  intrusive  tillers  of 
his  ground,  scaring  away  to  the  far  West  those  animals  of 
the  chase  given  by  the  Great  Spirit  for  his  food  :  there  is  to 
him  a  terrible  monotony  of  result.  In  the  delicious  islands 
of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  in  the  stern  and  magnificent  re- 
gions of  the  northeast,  scarcely  now  remains  a  mound,  or 
stone,  or  trace  even  of  tradition,  to  point  out  the  place  where 
any  among  the  departed  millions  sleep. 

The  discovery  of  the  American  Indians  brought  to  light 
not  only  a  new  race,  but  also  a  totally  new  condition  of  men. 
The  rudest  form  of  human  society  known  in  the  Old  World 
was  far  advanced  beyond  that  of  the  mysterioiis  children 
of  the  West,  in  arts,  knowledge,  and  government.  Even 
among  the  simplest  European  and  Asiatic  nations  the  prin- 
ciple of  individual  possession  was  established  ;  the  beasts  of 
the  field  were  domesticated  to  supply  the  food  and  aid  the 
labors  of  man,  aiid  large  bodies  of  people  M^ere  united  under 
the  sway  of  hereditary  chiefs.  But  the  Red  Man  roamed 
over  the  vast  forests  and  prairies  of  his  undiscovered  conti- 
nent, accompanied  by  few  of  his  fellows,  unassisted  by  beasts 
of  burden,!  and  trusting  alone  to  his  skill  and  fortune  in  the 
chase  for  a  support.  The  first  European  visitors  to  the  New 
World  were  filled  with  such  astonishment  at  the  appearance 
and  complexion  of  the  Red  Man,  that  they  hastily  concluded 
he  belonged  to  a  difierent  species  from  themselves.  As  the 
native  nations  became  better  known,  their  warriors,  states- 
men, and  orators  commanded  the  admiration  of  the  strangers. 
Especially  in  the  northern  people,  every  savage  virtue  was 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLII. 

t  "  Generally  speaking,  the  American  races  of  mankind  were  char- 
acterized by  a  want  of  domestic  animals,  and  this  had  considerable 
influence  on  their  domestic  life."  {Cosmos,  note,  vol.  ii.,  p.  481.) 
Contrasting  the  Bedouin  with  the  Red  Indian,  Yolney  observes,  "  the 
American  savage  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  hunter  and  a  butcher,  who 
has  had  daily  occasion  to  kill  and  slay,  and  in  every  animal  has  beheld 
nothing  but  a  fugitive  prey,  which  he  must  be  quick  to  seize.  Ho 
has  thus  acquired  a  roaming,  wasteful,  and  ferocious  disposition  ;  has 
become  an  animal  of  the  same  kind  with  the  wolf  and  tiger ;  has 
united  in  bands  or  troops,  but  not  into  organized  societies." 

G* 


154  THE    COXai'BST    OF    CANADA. 

conspicuous;  they  were  gentle  in  peace,  but  terrible  in  war; 
of  a  proud  and  noble  bearing,  honest,  faithful,  and  hospitable, 
loving  order  though  without  laws,  and  animated  by  the 
strongest  and  most  devoted  loyalty  to  their  tribe.  At  the 
same  time,  while  willingly  recording  their  high  and  admira- 
ble qualities,  pity  for  the  devoted  race  must  not  blind  us  to 
their  lerocious  and  degrading  vices. 

It  was  not  until  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  centuiy  that 
the  manners  and  characteristics  of  this  strange  race  attracted 
to  any  considerable  degree  the  attention  of  philosophers  and 
theorists;  a  chasm  in  human  history  then  seemed  about  to 
be  filled.  Eager  to  throw  light  upon  the  subject,  but  too 
impatient  to  inquire  into  the  facts  necessary  for  the  forma- 
tion of  opinions,  the  conclusions  formed  were  often  unjust 
to  the  native  dignity  of  the  Red  Indian,*  and  have  been 
proved  erroneous  by  subsequent  and  more  perfect  information. 
On  the  other  hand,  one  of  the  most  gifted  but  dangerous  of 
modem  philosophers  would  exalt  these  untutored  children 
of  nature  to  a  higher  degree  of  honor  and  excellence  than 
civilization  and  knowledge  can  confer.  He  deemed  that 
the  elevation  and  independence  of  mind,  resulting  from  the 
rude  simplicity  of  savage  life,  is  sought  in  vain  among  the 
members  of  refined  and  organized  societies.! 

Every  thing  tended   to  render  inquiry  into   the   state  of 

*  "  On  lie  prit  pas  d'abord  les  Araericains  pour  des  homtnes,  raais 
pour  des  orang-otangs,  pour  des  grands  singes,  qu'on  pouvoit  detruire 
sans  remords  et  sans  repioehc.  Un  pape  tit  une  BuUe  originale  dans 
laquelle  il  declara  qu'  ayant  envie  de  fonder  des  Evoches  dans  les 
plus  riches  contrces  do  rAmerique,  il  plaisoit  a  lui  et  au  Saint  Esprit 
de  reconnoitre  les  Amerieains  pour  des  hommes  veritables ;  de  sorte 
que,  sans  cette  decision  d'une  Italien,  les  habitans  du  Nouveau  Monde 
seroient  encore  niaintenant,  aux  yeux  des  fideles,  iine  race  d'animaux 

equivoques Qui  auroit  cru  que  malgre  cette  sentence  de  Rome, 

on  eut  agit6  violemment  au  conseil  de  Lima,  1583,  si  les  Amerieains 
avoient  assez  d'esprit  pour  etre  admis  aux  saercments  de  I'Eglise. 
Plusieurs  eveques  pcrsisterent  a,  les  Icur  refuser  pendant  que  les 
Jesuites  faisoient  comniunier  tous  les  jours  leurs  Indiens  esclaves 
au  Paraquai.  afin  do  les  accoutunier,  disoient-ils,  a  la  discipline, 
et  pour  les  detourner  de  I'horriblc  coutume  de  se  nourrir  de  chair 
humain." — Rechcrchcs  Fhilosophiqucs  sur  les  Amerieains^  De  Pauw, 
tom.  i.,  p.  35. 

t  Rousseau,  opposed  by  Buflbn.  Yolney,  &o. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  155 

the  rude  tribes  of  America  difficult  and  obscure.  In  the 
generality  of  cases  they  presented  characteristics  of  a  native 
simplicity,  elsewhere  unknown ;  and  even  in  the  more  favored 
districts,  %vhere  a  degree  of  civilization  appeared,  it  had 
assumed  a  form  and  direction  totally  different  from  that  of 
the  Old  World. * 

The  origin  of  this  mysterious  people  has  been  the  subject 
of  an  immense  variety  of  speculations,  and  has  involved  the 
question,  whether  all  men  are  the  sons  of  Adam,  or  whether 
the  distinctions  of  the  human  race  were  owing  to  the  several 
sources  from  whence  its  members  sprung  ?  The  skeptic 
supposition  that  each  portion  of  the  globe  gave  its  own. 
original  type  of  man  to  the  human  family  at  once  solves 
the  difficulty  of  American  population  ;  but  as  both  Chris- 
tianity and  philosophy  alike  forbid  acceptance  of  this  view,  t 

*  "  Notwithstanding  the  striking  analogies  existing  between  the 
nations  of  the  New  Continent  and  the  Tartar  tribes  who  have  adopted 
the  religion  of  Bouddah,  I  think  I  discover  in  the  mythology  of  the 
Americans,  in  the  stj'le  of  their  paintings,  in  their  languages,  and 
especially  in  their  external  conformation,  the  descendants  of  a  race  of 
men,  which,  early  separated  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  has  followed 
for  a  lengthened  series  of  years  a  peculiar  road  in  the  unfolding  of 
its  intellectual  faculties,  and  in  its  tendency  toward  civilization." — 
Humboldt's  Ancient  Inhabitants  of  America,  vol.  i.,  p.  200. 

"It  can  not  be  doubted  that  the  greater  part  of  the  nations  of 
America  belong  to  a  race  of  men  who,  isolated  ever  since  the  infancy 
of  the  world  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  exhibit  in  the  nature  and 
diversity  of  language,  in  their  features,  and  the  conformation  of  their 
skull,  inconte.stable  proofs  of  an  early  and  complete  civilization." — 
Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  250. 

On  the  American  races  in  general,  Humbol3t  refers  to  the  beau- 
tiful work  of  Samuel  George  Morton,  CranicB  Americanre,  1839,  p. 
62—86 ;  and  an  account  of  the  skulls  brought  by  Pentland  from  the 
Highlands  of  Titicaca,  in  the  '  Dublin  Journal  of  Medical  and  Chemi- 
cal Science,''  vol.  v.,  p.  475,  1834;  also,  Alcide  d'Orbigny,  V Homme 
jlntericain  considcre  sous  scs  Rapports  Physiol,  et  Mor.,  p.  221,  1839; 
and,  further,  the  work,  so  full  of  delicate  ethnographical  observations, 
of  Prinz  Maximilian  of  Wied,  Rcise  in  das  Innere  von  Kordamerika, 
1839. 

t  "  With  regard  to  their  origin,  I  have  no  doubt,  independent  of 
theological  considerations,  but  that  it  is  the  same  with  ours.  The 
resemblance  of  the  North  American  savages  to  the  Oriental  Tartars 
renders  it  probable  that  they  originally  sprang  from  the  same  stock." 
— BuflTon,  Eng.  trans.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  193. 


156  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

it  becomes  necessary  to  consider  the  relative  probabilitiea 
in  favor  of  the  other  diilerent  theories  which  enthusiasm, 
ingenuity,  and  research  have  contributed  to  lay  before  the 
world. 

Without  referring  to  the  most  sacred  and  ancient  of  au- 
thorities, we  may  find  existing  natural  evidence  abundantly 
sutTicient  to  establish  the  belief  of  the  common  descent  of 
our  race.  There  are  not  in  the  human  form  difierences  such 
as  distinguish  separate  species  of  the  brute  creation.  All 
races  of  men  are  nearly  of  like  stature  and  size,  varying  only 
by  the  accidents  of  climate  and  food  favorable  or  adverse  to 
their  full  development.  The  number,  shape,  and  uses  of 
limbs  and  extremities  are  alike,  and  internal  construction  is 
invariably  the  same.  These  are  circumstances  the  least 
acted  upon  by  situation  and  temperature,  and  therefore  the 
surest  tests  of  a  particular  species.  Color  is  the  most  obvious 
and  the  principal  indication  of  difference  in  the  human  fam- 
ilies, and  is  evidently  influenced  to  a  great  extent  by  the 
action  of  the  sun,*  as  the  sv/arthy  cheek  of  the  harvest 

*  ''The  Ethiopians,"  sings  the  old  tragedian,  Theodectes  of 
Phaselis,  '"  are  dyed  by  the  near  .sun-god  in  his  course  with  a  dark 
and  sooty  luster ;  the  sun's  heat  crisps  and  dries  up  their  hair."  The 
expeditions  of  Alexander,  which  were  so  inlluential  in  exciting  ideas 
of  the  physical  cosmography,  first  fanned  the  dispute  on  the  uncertain 
influence  of  climate  upon  races  of  men.  Humboldt's  Cosmos,  vol.  i., 
p.  386.  Volney,  p.  506,  and  Oldmixon,  vol.  i.,  p  286,  assert  that  the 
savages  are  born  white,  and  in  their  infancy  continue  so.  An  in- 
telli<,'ent  Indian  said  to  Volney,  "  Why  should  there  be  any  diiference 
of  color  between  us  and  them  ".'  (some  Spaniards  who  had  been  bronzed 
in  America).  In  them,  as  in  us,  it  is  the  work  of  the  father  of  colors, 
the  sun,  that  burns  us.  You  whites  yourselves  compare  the  skin  of 
your  faces  with  that  of  your  bodies."  This  brought  to  my  remem. 
brance  that,  on  my  return  from  Turkey,  when  I  quitted  the  turban, 
half  my  forehead  above  the  eyebrows  was  almost  like  bronze,  while 
the  other  half  next  the  hair  was  as  white  as  pajjcr.  If,  as  natural 
philosophy  demonstrates,  there  bo  no  color  but  what  originates  from 
light,  it  is  evident  that  the  didcrent  complexions  of  people  are  owing 
entirely  to  the  various  modifications  of  this  fluid  with  other  elements 
that  act  on  our  skin,  and  even  compose  its  substance.  Sooner  or  later 
it  will  be  proved  that  the  blackness  of  the  African  has  no  other  source. 
—P.  408. 

"  Vespuee  decrit  lea  indigenes  du  Nouvcau  Continent  dans  sa 
premiere  lettro  comme  dcs  hommes  a  fa<'e  large  ot  a  phvsionnmie 


THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA.  157 

laborer  will  witness.  Under  the  equator  we  find  the  jet 
black  of  the  negro  ;  then  the  olive-colored  Moors  of  the 
southern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  again,  the  bronzed 
face  of  the  Spaniard  and  Italian  ;  next,  the  Frenchman, 
darker  than  those  who  dwell  under  the  temperate  skies  of 
England  ;  and,  last,  the  bleached  and  pallid  visages  of  the 
north.  Along  the  arctic  circle,  indeed,  a  dusky  tint  again 
appears  :  that,  however,  may  be  fairly  attributed  to  the 
scorching  power  of  the  sun,  constantly  over  the  horizon, 
through  the  brief  and  fiery  summer.  The  natives  remain 
generally  in  the  open  air  during  this  time,  fishing,  or  in  the 
chase';  and  the  effect  of  exposure  stamps  them  with  a  com- 
plexion which  even  the  long-continued  snows  can  not  remove. 
In  the  rigorous  winter  season,  the  people  of  those  dreary 
countries  pass  most  of  their  time  in  wretched  huts  or  sub- 
terranean dwellings,  where  they  heap  up  large  fires  to  warm 
their  shivering  limbs.  The  smoke  has  no  proper  vent  in 
these  ill-constructed  abodes;  it  fills  the  confined  air,  and 
tends  to  darken  the  complexions  of  those  constantly  exposed 
to  its  influence. 

The  difierence  of  color  in  the  human  race  is  doubtless  in- 
fluenced by  many  causes,  modifying  the  effect  of  position 
with  regard  to  the  tropics.  The  great  elevation  of  a  par- 
ticular district,  its  proximity  to  the  sea,  the  shades  of  a  vast 
forest,  the  exhalations  from  extensive  marshes,  all  tend  to 
diminish  materially  the  power  of  a.  southern  sun.*  On  the 
other  hand,  intensity  of  heat  is  aggravated  by  the  neighbor- 
hood of  arid  and  sandy  deserts,  or  rocky  tracts.      The  action 

tartare,  dent  la  couleur  rougeatro  n'etoit  due  qu'a  Thabitude  de  ne 
pas  etre  vetus.  II  revient  a  cette  meme  opinion  en  examinant  les 
Bresiliens."  (Canovai,  p.  87,  90.)  "  Leur  teint,  dit  il,  est  rouireatre, 
ce  qui  vient  de  leur  nudite  absolue  et  de  I'ardeur  du  soleii  auquel  ils 
sont  constamment  exposes.  Cette  erreur  a  cte  partagee  par  un  des 
voyageurs  modernes  les  plus  spirituels,  mais  des  plus  systematiques, 
par  Volney."  (Essai  Politique  sur  la  Mexique.)  Humboldt's  Gcog. 
du  Nouv.  Continent^  vol.  v.,  p.  25. 

■*  On  the  influence  of  humidity  much  stress  has  been  laid  by  'M. 
D'Orbigny  and  Sir  R.  Schomburgh,  each  of  whom  has  made  the  remark 
as  the  result  of  personal  and  independent  observation  on  the  inhabitants 
of  the  New  World,  that  people  who  live  under  the  damp  shade  of 
dense  and  lofty  forests  aie  comparatively  fair. 


158  THE  COXat'EST  OF  CANADA. 

of  long- continued  heat  creates  a  more  permanent  effect  than 
the  mere  darkening  of  the  outer  skin:  it  alters  the  character 
of  those  subtile  juices  that  display  their  color  through  the 
almost  transparent  covering.*  "VVe  see  that,  from  a  constitu- 
tional peculiarity  in  individuals,  the  painful  variety  of  the 
albino  is  sometimes  produced  in  the  hottest  countries.  Cer- 
tain internal  diseases,  and  diflerent  medicines,  change  the 
beautiful  bloom  of  the  young  and  healthy  into  repulsive  and 
unnatural  tints.  A  peculiar  secretion  of  the  carbon  abound- 
ing in  the  human  frame  produces  the  jet  black  of  the  negro's 
skin,  and  enables  him  to  bear  without  inconvenience  the 
terrible  sultriness  of  his  native  land.f  The  dark  races,  in- 
ferior in  animal  and  intellectual  powers  to  the  white  man, 
are  yet  nearly  free  from  the  deformities  he  so  often  exhibits, 
perhaps  on  account  of  a  less  susceptible  and  delicate  structure. 
The  Caucasian  or  European  races,  born  and  matured  under 
a  temperate  climate,  manifestly  enjoy  the  highest  gifts  of 
man.  "Wherever  they  come  in  contact  with  their  colored 
brother,  he  ultimately  yields  to  the  irresistible  superiority, 
and  becomes,  according  to  the  caprice  of  their  haughty  will, 
the  victim,  the  dependent,  or  the  slave. | 

There  are  other  characteristics  dilierent  from,  but  generally 
combined  with  color,  which  are  influenced  by  constitutional 
varieties.  The  hair  usually  harmonizes  with  the  complex- 
ion, and,  like  it,  shows  the  influence  of  climate.  In  cold 
countries,  the  natural  covermg  of  every  animal  becomes  rich 
and  soft ;  the  plentiful  locks  and  manly  beard  of  the  Euro- 
pean show  a  marked  contrast  to  the  coarse  and  scanty  hair 
of  the  inhabitants  of  tropical  countries.  The  development 
of  mental  power  and  refined  habits  of  life  have  also  a  strong 
but  slow  efl^ect  upon  the  outward  form.§      Certain  African 

•  See  Appendix,  No.  XLI. 

t  Mr.  Jarrold  asserts  that  the  negro  becomes  the  most  perfect 
specimen  of  the  human  species,  in  consequence  of  his  possessing  the 
coarsest  and  most  impassive  integument. — Antlir apologia. 

X  See  Appendix,  No.  XLII. 

§  "  It  is  intellectual  culture  which  contributes  most  to  diversify  the 
features.  Barbarous  nations  have  rather  a  physiopnomy  of  tribe  or 
horde  than  one  peculiar  to  such  or  such  an  individual.  The  savage 
and  civilized  man  are  like  those  animals  of  the  same  species,  several 


THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA.  159 

nations  of  a  higher  intelligence  and  civilization  than  their 
rude  neighbors,  show  much  less  of  the  peculiarities  of  the 
negro  features.  The  relined  Hindoo  displays  a  delicate  form 
and  expression  under  his  dark  complexion.  The  black  color 
and  the  negro  features  are  accidentally  not  necessarily  con- 
nected, and  it  seems  to  require  both  climate  and  inferiority 
of  intellect  to  unite  them  in  the  same  race. 

When  circumstances  of  climate  or  situation  have  efTected 
peculiar  appearances  in  a  nation  or  tribe,  the  results  will 
long  survive  the  causes  when  people  are  removed  to  widely- 
diflerent  latitudes  :  a  dark  color  is  not  easily  effaced,  even 
under  the  influence  of  moderate  temperature  and  heightened 
civilization.  For  these  reasons,  there  appear  many  cases 
where  the  complexion  of  the  inhabitants  and  the  climate  of 
the  country  do  not  correspond,  but  the  original  characteristics 
will  be  found  undergoing  the  process  of  gradual  change,  ulti- 
mately adapting  themselves  to  their  new  country  and  situa- 
tion.*     The  marked  and  peculiar  countenances  of  the  once 

of  which  rove  in  the  forest,  while  others  connected  with  us  share  in 
the  benefits  and  evils  that  accompany  civilization.  The  varieties  of 
form  and  color  are  frequent  only  in  domestic  animals.  How  great  is 
the  difference  witli  respect  to  mobiHty  of  feature  and  variety  of  physi- 
ognom}'  between  dogs  again  become  savage  in  the  New  World,  and 
those  whose  slightest  caprices  are  indulged  in  the  houses  of  the  opulent. 
Both  in  men  and  animals  the  emotions  of  the  soul  are  reflected  in  the 
features  ;  and  the  features  acquire  the  habit  of  mobility  in  proportion 
as  the  emotions  of  the  mind  are  more  frequent,  more  varied,  and  more 
durable.  In  every  condition  of  man,  it  is  not  the  energy  or  the  tran- 
sient burst  of  the  passions  which  give  expression  to  the  features ;  it  is 
rather  that  sensibility  of  the  soul  which  brings  us  continually  into  con- 
tact with  the  extefnal  world,  multiplies  our  sufferings  and  our  pleas- 
ures, and  reacts  at  once  on  the  physiognomy,  the  manners,  and  the 
language.  If  the  variety  and  mobility  of  the  features  embellish  the 
domain  of  animated  nature,  we  must  admit  also  that  both  increase  by 
civilization  without  being  produced  by  it  alone.  In  the  great  family 
of  nations,  no  other  race  unites  these  advantages  to  a  higher  degree 
than  that  of  Caucasus  or  the  European.  It  must  be  admitted  that  this 
insensibility  of  the  features  is  not  peculiar  to  every  race  of  men  of  a 
very  dark  complexion  :  it  is  much  less  apparent  in  the  African  than  in 
the  natives  of  America." — Humboldt's  Personal  Narrative^  vol.  iii., 
p.  230. 

*  Tacitus,  in  his  speculations  on  the  peopling  of  Britain,  distin- 
guishes very  beautifully  between  what  may  belong  to  the  ultimate  in- 


160  THE  CONaUEST  of  CANADA. 

"  chosen  people"  vary,  in  color  at  least,  wherever  they  are 
seen  over  the  world,  although  uninfluenced  hy  any  admixture 
of  alien  blood.  In  England  the  children  of  Israel  and  the 
descendant  of  the  Saxon  are  alike  of  a  fair  complexion,  and 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  the  Jew  and  the  Egyptian  show 
the  same  swarthy  hue.* 

At  first  sight  this  American  race  would  appear  to  offer 
evidence  against  the  supposed  influence  of  climate  upon  color, 
as  one  general  form  and  complexion  prevail  in  all  latitudes 
of  the  New  World,  from  the  tropics  to  the  frozen  regions  of 
the  north.  Great  varieties,  however,  exist  in  the  shade  of 
the  red  or  copper  f  color  of  the  Indians.  There  are  two  ex- 
tremes of  complexion  among  mankind — those  of  the  northern 
European  and  the  African  negro  ;  between  these  there  is  a 
series  of  shades,  that  of  the  American  Indian  being  about 
midway.  The  structure  of  the  New  World,  and  the  circum- 
stances of  its  inhabitants,  may  account  for  the  generally  equal 
color  of  their  skin.  The  western  Indian  never  becomes  black, 
even  when  dwelling  directly  under  the  equator.  He  lives 
among  stupendous  mountain  ranges,  where  cool  breezes  from 

fiuences  of  the  country,  and  what  may  pertain  to  an  old,  unalterable 
type  in  the  immiffrated  race.  "  Britanniam  qui  mortales  initio  cohierunt, 
iiidigenas  an  adveeti,  ut  inter  barbaros,  parum  eompertum.  Habitus 
corporis  varii,  atque  ex  eo  argumenta;  namque  rutilae  Caledoniam 
liabitantium  coma;,  magni  artus  Gcrmanicam  oricfinem  adseverant. 
Silurum  colorati  vultus  et  torti  plerumque  crines,  et  posita  contra 
Hispania,  Iberos  veteres  trajecisse,  easque  sedes  oocupasse  fidem 
faciunt :  proximi  Galiis  et  similes  sunt,  seu  durante  orifrinis  vi ;  seu, 
procurrentibus  in  divisa  terris,  positio  cocli  corporibus  habitum  dedit." 
— Jlgricola,  cap.  ii. 

"  No  ancient  author  has  so  clearl}'  stated  the  twoforms  of  reasoning 
by  which  we  still  explain  in  our  days  the  differences  of  color  and  fig- 
ure among  neighboring  nations  as  Tacitus.  He  makes  a  just  distinc- 
tion between  the  influence  of  climate  and  hereditary  dispositions,  and. 
like  a  philosopher  persuaded  of  our  profound  ignorance  of  the  origin 
of  things,  leaves  the  question  undecided." — Humboldt's  Personal  Nar- 
rative. 

*  See  Smith  on  The  Variety  of  Complexion  of  the  Human  Species. 

t  Mr.  Lawrence's  precise  definition  is  "  an  obscure  orange  or  rusty- 
iron  color,  not  unlike  the  bark  of  the  cinnamon-tree."  Among  the  early 
discoverers,  Vespucius  applies  to  them  the  epithet  "  rougeatre."  Veraz- 
zano  says,  "sono  di  color  berrettini  e  non  molto  dalli  Saracini  dif- 
ferent!." 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  161 

the  snowy  heights  sweep  through  the  valleys  and  over  the 
plains  below.  The  vast  rivers  springing  from  under  those 
lofty  peaks  inundate  a  great  extent  of  country,  and  turn  it 
into  swamps,  whence  perpetual  exhalations  arise  and  lower 
the  temperature.  There  are  no  fiery  deserts  to  heat  the 
])assing  wind  and  reflect  the  rays  of  the  sun  ;  a  continual 
forest,  with  luxuriant  foliage,  and  a  dense  underwood,  spreads 
a  pleasant  shade  over  the  surface  of  the  earth.  America, 
under  the  same  latitudes,  especially  on  the  eastern  coast,  is 
every  where  colder  than  the  Old  World.  The  nearest  ap- 
proach to  a  black  complexion  is  seen  in  the  people  of  Brazil, 
a  country  comparatively  low,  and  immediately  under  the 
equator.  The  inhabitants  of  the  lofty  Mexican  table-land 
are  also  very  dark,  and  on  those  arid  plains  the  sun  pours 
down  its  scorching  rays  upon  a  surface  almost  devoid  of 
sheltering  vegetation. 

The  habits  of  savage  life,  and  the  constant  exposure  to 
the  elements,  seem  sufficient  to  cause  a  dark  tint  upon  the 
human  skin  even  in  the  temperate  regions  of  America,  where 
the  cold  is  far  greater  than  in  the  same  latitude  in  Europe. 
The  inhabitants  of  those  immense  countries  are  badly  clothed, 
imperfectly  defended  against  the  weather,  miserably  housed  ; 
wandering  in  war  or  in  the  chase,  exposed  for  weeks  at  a 
time  to  the  mercy  of  the  elements,  they  soon  darken  into  the 
indelible  red  or  copper  color  of  their  race.  On  the  north- 
west coasts,  about  latitude  50°,  in  Nootka  Sound,  and  a 
number  of  other  smaller  bays,  dwell  a  people  more  numer- 
ous and  better  provided  with  ibod  and  shelter  than  their 
eastern  neighbor*.  They  are  Iree  from  a  great  part  of  the 
toils  and  hardships  of  the  hunter,  and  from  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  season.  When  cleansed  from  their  filthy  and  fantas- 
tic painting,  it  appears  that  their  complexion  and  features 
resemble  those  of  the  European. * 

*  Cook's  Narrative  calls  their  color  an  effete  white,  like  that  of  the 
southern  nations  of  Europe.  Meares  expressly  says  that  some  of  the 
females,  when  cleaned,  were  found  to  have  the  fair  complexions  of 
Europe. 

Somewhat  further  north,  at  Cloak  Bay,  in  lat.  54°  10',  Humboldt 
remarks,  that  "  in  the  midst  of  copper-colored  Indians,  with  small, 
long  eyes,  there  is  a  tribe  with  largo  eyes,  European  features,  and 


162  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

Modern  discoveries  have  to  a  great  extent  dispelled  the 
mystery  of  the  Indian  origin,  and  proved  the  fallacy  of  the 
numerous  and  ingenious  theories  formerly  advanced  with  so 
much  pertinacity  and  zeal.  Since  the  northwest  coasts  of 
America  and  the  northeast  of  Asia  have  been  explored,  little 
difficulty  remains  on  this  subject.  The  two  continents  ap- 
proach so  nearly  in  that  direction  that  they  are  almost  within 
sight  of  each  other,  and  small  boats  can  safely  pass  the  nar- 
row strait.  Ten  degrees  further  south,  the  Aleutian  and 
Fox  Islands*  form  a  continuous  chain  between  Kamtschatka 
and  the  peninsula  of  Alaska,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave 
the  passage  across  a  matter  of  no  difficulty.  The  rude  and 
hardy  Tschutchi,  inhabiting  the  northeast  of  Asia,  frequently 
sail  from  one  continent  to  the  other. t  From  the  remotest 
antiquity,  this  ignorant  people  possessed  the  wondei'ful  secret 
of  the  existence  of  a  world  hidden  from  the  wisest  and  most 
adventurous  of  civilized  nations.  They  were  unconscious  of 
the  value  of  their  vast  discovery  ;  they  passed  over  a  stormy 
strait  from  one  frozen  shore  to  another,  as  stern  and  desolate 
as  that  they  had  left  behind,  and  knew  not  that  they  had 
crossed  one  of  the  great  boundaries  of  earth.  When  they 
first  entered  upon  the  wilderness  of  America,  probably  the 
most  adventurous  pushed  down  toward  the  genial  regions 
of  the  south,  and  so  through  the  long  ages  of  the  past  the 
stream  of  population  flowed  slowly  on,  wave  by  wave,  to  the 
remotest  limits  of  the  east  and  south.  The  Indians  resem- 
ble the  people  of  northeastern  Asia  in  form  and  feature  more 
than  any  other  of  the  human  race.  Their  population  is  most 
dease  along  the  districts  nearest  to  Asia ;  and  among  the 
Mexicans,  whose  records  of  the  past  deserve  credence,  there 
is  a  constant  tradition  that  their  Aztec  and  Toultec  chiefs 
came  from  the  northwest.  Every  where  but  to  the  north, 
America  is  surrounded  with  a  vast  ocean  unbroken  by  any 
chain  of  islands  that  could  connect  it  with  the  Old  World. 

a  skin  less  dark  than  that  of  our  peasantry." — Nctv  Sjjain,  vol.  i., 
p.  145. 

Humboldt  considers  this  as  the  strongest  argument  of  an  original 
diversity  of  raee  which  has  remained  unaffected  l>y  climate. 

•  See  Appendix,  No.  XLV.  t  Cochrane's  Pedestrian  Journey. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  163 

Most  probably  no  living  man  ever  crossed  this  immense  bar- 
rier before  the  time  of  Columbus.  It  is  certain  that  in  no 
part  of  America  have  any  authentic  traces  been  found  of 
European  civilization  ;  the  civilization  of  America,  such  as 
it  yvsLS,  arose,  as  it  flourished,  in  the  fertile  plains  of  Mexico* 
and  in  the  delightful  valleys  of  Peru.;t  there,  where  the 
bounty  of  nature  supplied  an  abundance  of  the  necessaries  of 
life,  the  population  rapidly  multiplied,  and  the  arts  became 
objects  of  cultivation. 

There  is  something  almost  mysterious  in  the  total  differ- 

*  Prescott  remarks,  that  the  progress  made  by  the  Mexicans  in 
astronomy,  and  especially  the  fact  of  their  having  a  general  board  for 
education  and  the  fine  arts,  proves  more  in  favor  of  their  advancement 
than  the  noble  architectural  monuments  which  they  and  their  kindred 
tribes  erected.  "  Architecture,"  he  observes,  "  is  a  sensual  gratifica- 
tion, and  addresses  itself  to  the  eye  :  it  is  the  form  in  which  the  re- 
sources of  a  semi-civilized  people  are  most  likely  to  be  lavished." — 
Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  i.,  p.  155;   Lyell's  America,  vol.  i.,  p.  115. 

t  "  Dans  les  regions  anciennement  agricoles  de  I'Amerique  meri- 
dionale  les  conquerans  Europeens  n'ont  fait  que  suivre  les  traces  d'une 
culture  indigene.  Les  Indiens  sont  restes  attaches  au  sol  qu'ils  ont 
defriche  depuis  des  siecles.  Le  Mexique  seul  compte  un  million  sept 
cent  mille  indigenes  de  race  pure,  dont  le  nombre  augmcnte  avec  la 
meme  rapidite  que  celui  des  autres  castes.  Au  Mexique,  ii  Guatemala, 
a  Quito,  au  Perou,  a  Bolivia,  la  physionomie  du  pays,  a  Texception  de 
quelques  grandes  villes,  est  essentiellement  Indienne;  dans  les  cani- 
pagnes  la  varietc  des  langues  s'est  conservee  avec  les  moeurs,  )e 
costume  et  les  habitudes  de  la  vie  domestique.  II  n'y  a  de  plus  que 
des  troupeaux  de  vaches  et  de  brebis,  quelques  cereales  nouvelles  et 
les  ceremonies  d'une  culte  qui  se  mele  a  d'antiques  superstitions 
locales.  II  faut  avoir  vecu  dans  les  hautes  plaines  de  I'Amerique 
Espagnole  ou  dans  la  confederation  Anglo-Aracricain  pour  sentir 
vivement  oombien  ce  contraste  entre  des  peuples  chasseurs  et  des 
peuples  agricoles,  entre  des  pays  longtemps  barbares  ou  des  pays 
ofirant  d'anciennes  institutions  politiques  et  une  legislation  indigene 
tres  dcveloppee,  a  facilite  ou  entrave  la  conquete,  influc  sur  les  formes 
des  premiers  etablissement  europeens,  conserve  meme  de  nos  jours 
aux  difl'erentes  parties  de  I'Amerique  indcpendante,  un  caractere 
ineffafable.  Deja  le  pere  Joseph  Acosta  qui  a  etudie  sur  les  lieux 
memes  les  suites  du  grand  drame  sanguinaire  de  la  conquete  a  bien 
saisi  ces  diflTerences  frappantes  de  civilisation  progressive  et  d'absence 
entiere  d'ordre  social  qu'ofliait  le  nouveau-monde  a  Tepoque  de 
Christopher  Colomb,  ou  peu  de  tems  apres  la  colonisation  par  les 
Espagnols. — Hist.  Nat.  y  Moral,  lib.  vi.,  cap.  ii. ;  Humboldt's  Geo- 
graphie  du  Nouvcau  Continent,  torn,  i.,  p.  130. 


164  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ence  between  the  languages  of  the  Old  and  New  World.* 
All  the  tongues  of  civilized  nations  spring  from  a  few  orig- 
inal roots,  somewhat  analogous  to  each  other  ;  but  it  would 
seem  that,  among  wandering  tribes,  dispersed  over  a  vast 
extent  of  country,  carrying  on  but  little  intercourse,  and 
having  no  written  record  or  traditionary  recital  to  preserve 
any  fixed  standard,  language  undergoes  a  complete  change 
in  the  course  of  ages.  The  great  varieties  of  tongues  in 
America,  and  their  dissimilarity  to  each,  other,  tend  to  con- 
firm this  supposition. 

In  various  parts  of  America,  remains  are  found  which 
place  beyond  a  doubt  the  ancient  existence  of  a  people  more 
numerous,  powerful,  and  civilized  than  the  present  race  of 
Indians  ;  but  the  indications  of  this  departed  people  are  not 
such  as  to  bespeak  their  having  been  of  very  remote  an- 
tiquity :  the  ruined  cities  of  Central  America,  concealed  by 
the  forest  growth  of  centuries,  and  the  huge  mounds  of 
earth  t  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  upon  the  table- 
lands of  Mexico,  their  dwellings  and  mausoleums,  although 
long  swept  over  by  the  storm  of  savage  conquest,  afTord  no 
proofs  of  their  having  existed  very  far  back  into  those  dark 
ages  when  the  New  World  was  unknown  to  Europe.  The 
history  of  these  past  races  of  men  will  probably  forever  re- 
main a  sealed  book,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  great  pop- 
ulation once  covered  those  rich  countries  which  the  first 
English  visitors  found  the  wild  hunting-grounds  for  a  few 
savage  tribes. |     Probably  the   existing  race  of  Red   Men 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XL VI. 

t  "  In  both  Americas  it  is  a  matter  of  inquiry  what  was  the  inten- 
tion of  the  natives  when  they  raised  so  many  artificial  hills,  several 
of  which  appear  to  have  served  neither  as  mounds,  nor  watch-towers, 
nor  the  base  of  a  temple.  A  custom  established  in  Eastern  Asia  may 
throw  some  lijrht  on  this  important  question.  Two  thousand  three 
hundred  years  before  our  era,  sacrifices  were  offered  in  China  to  the 
Supreme  Being,  Chan-Ty,  on  four  great  mountains  called  the  Four 
Yo.  The  sovereigns,  finding  it  inconvenient  to  go  thither  in  person, 
caused  eminences  representini^  these  mountains  to  be  erected  by  the 
hands  of  men  near  their  habitations." — Voyage  of  Lord  Macartney, 
vol.  i.,  p.  58;  Hager,  Monument  of  Fit,  p.  10,  1802. 

t  Mr.  Flint  asserts,  "  that  the  greatest  population  clearly  has  been  in 
those  positions  where  the  most  dense  future  population  will  be." — P.  166. 


THE  CONaUEST  uF  CANADA.  165 

•were  the  conquerors  and  exterminators  of  the  feeble  but 
civUized  aboriginal  nations,  and  as  soon  as  they  possessed  the 
land  they  split  into  separate  and  hostile  communities,  waging 
perpetual  war  with  each  other  so  as  constantly  to  diminish 
their  numbers. 

Far  up  the  Mississippi  and  the  Missouri  the  exploration 
of  the  country  brings  to  light  incontestable  proofs  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  mysterious  aboriginal  race  :  wells  artificially 
walled,  and  various  other  structures  for  convenience  or  de- 
fense, are  frequently  seen  ;  ornaments  of  silver,  copper,  and 
even  brass  are  found,  together  with  various  articles  of  pottery 
and  sculptured  stone ;  sepulchers  filled  with  vast  numbers 
of  human  bones  have  often  been  discovered,  and  human 
bodies  in  a  state  of  preservation  are  sometimes  exhumed. 
On  one  of  these  the  hair  was  yellow  or  sandy,  and  it  is  well 
known  that  an  unvarying  characteristic  of  the  present  red 
race  is  the  lank  black  hair.  A  splendid  robe  of  a  kind  of 
linen,  made  apparently  from  nettle  fibers,  and  interwoven 
with  the  beautiful  feathers  of  the  wild  turkey,  encircled  this 
long-buried  mummy.  The  number  and  the  magnitude  of 
the  mounds  bear  evidence  that  the  concurrent  labors  of  a 
vast  assembly  of  men  were  employed  in  their  construc- 
tion.* 

*  "  The  bones  of  animals  and  snakes  have  sometimes  been  found 
mixed  with  human  bones  in  these  tumuli,  and  out  of  one  near  Cincin- 
nati were  dug  two  large  marine  shells,  one  of  which  was  the  Cassis 
corniUus  of  the  Asiatic  islands,  the  other  the  Fulgur  pcrversus  of  the 
coast  of  Georgia  and  East  Florida  ;  and  this  is  an  additional  argument 
used  in  favor  of  the  alleged  intercourse  existing  anciently  between 
the  Indians  of  this  part  of  North  America  and  the  inhabitants  of  Asia, 
and  between  them  and  those  of  the  Atlantic.  Many  circumstances 
still  existing  give  probability  to  the  popular  belief  that  the  American 
Indians  had  their  origin  in  Asia.  In  their  persons,  color,  and  reserved 
disposition,  they  have  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  Malays  of  the  Ori- 
ental Archipelago — that  is  to  say,  to  some  of  the  Tartar  tribes  of  Upper 
Asia ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that,  like  these,  they  shave 
the  head,  leaving  only  a  single  lock  of  hair.  The  picture  language  of 
the  Mexicans,  as  corresponding  with  the  ancient  picture  language  of 
China,  and  the  quiposof  Peru  with  the  knotted  and  party-colored  cords 
which  the  Chinese  history  informs  us  were  in  use  in  the  early  period 
of  the  empire,  may  also  be  adduced  as  corroborative  evidence.  The 
high  cheek  bones  and  the  elongated  eye  of  the  two  people,  besides 


166  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

In  the  progress  of  early  discovery  and  settlement,  striking 
views  were  presented  of  savage  life  among  the  Red  Men 
inhabiting  the  Atlantic  coast ;  but  later  researches  along  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  and  by  the  great 
Canadian  lakes,  exhibited  this  people  under  a  still  more  re- 
markable aspect.  The  most  prominent  among  the  natives 
of  the  interior  for  power,  policy,  and  courage,  were  the 
Iroquois  or  Five  Nations.*  Their  territory  extended  west- 
other  personal  resemblances,  suggest  the  probability  of  a  common 
origin." — Quarterly  Ecvieic,  No.  LVIL,  p.  13. 

"  The  Iroquois  and  Hurons  made  hieroglyphic  paintings  on  wood, 
which  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  those  of  the  Mexicans." — 
Lafitau,  vol.  ii.,  p.  43,  225  ;  La  Houtan,  p.  193. 

"  A  long  struggle  between  two  religious  sects,  the  Brahmans  and 
the  Buddhists,  terminated  by  the  emigration  of  the  Chamans  to  Thibet, 
Mongolia,  China,  and  Japan.  If  tribes  of  the  Tartar  race  have  passed 
over  to  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  and  thence  to  the  south  and 
the  east,  toward  the  banks  of  Gila,  and  those  of  the  Missouri,  as 
etymological  researches  serve  to  indicate,  we  should  be  less  surprised 
at  finding  among  the  semi-barbarous  nations  of  the  New  Continent 
idols  and  monuments  of  architecture,  a  hieroglyphical  writing,  and 
exact  knowledge  of  the  duration  of  the  year,  and  traditions  respecting 
the  first  state  of  the  world,  recalling  to  our  minds  the  arts,  the 
sciences,  and  religious  opinions  of  the  Asiatic  nations." — Humboldt's 
Researches. 

In  his  description  of  a  Mexican  painting,  Humboldt  observes, 
"  The  slave  on  the  left  is  like  the  figure  of  those  saints  which  we  see 
frequently  in  Hindoo  paintings,  and  which  the  navigator  Roblet  found 
on  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  among  the  hieroglyphical  paint- 
ings of  the  natives  of  Cox's  Channel." — Marchant's  Voyage,  vol.  i., 
p.  312. 

"  It  is  probably  by  philosophical  and  antiquarian  researches  in 
Tartary  that  the  history  of  those  civilized  nations  of  North  America, 
of  whose  great  works  only  the  wreck  remains,  will  alone  be  elucidated." 
— See  Bancroft's  Hiatory  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.,  chap.  xxii. ; 
and  Stephens's  Central  jlmerica,  vol.  i.,  p.  96;  vol.  ii.,  chap,  xxvi., 
p.  186,  337,  413,  433.     See  Appendix,  No.  XLVII. 

*  '■  The  five  nations  were  the  Mohawks,  the  Oneidas,  the  Cayugas, 
the  Onondagas,  and  the  Senecas.  The  Dutch  called  them  Maquas, 
the  French  Iroquois ;  their  appellation  at  home  was  the  Mingoes,  and 
sometimes  the  Af^anuschion,  or  United  People." — Governor  Clinton's 
Discourse  before  New  York  Historical  Society,  1811. 

The  Iroquois  have  often,  among  Europeans,  been  termed  the  Romans 
of  the  West.  "  Le  nom  d'Iroqnois  est  purcment  franrois,  ct  a  Cte 
formt'  du  termo  Hiro,  qui  signifie,  J~ai  dil,  par  lequel  ces  sauvages 
finisscm  tout  leur  discours,  eomme  les  Latins  faisaient  autrefois  par 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  167 

ward  from  Lake  Champlain,  to  the  farthest  extremity  of 
Ontario,  along  the  southern  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
of  the  Great  Lake.  Although  formed  by  the  alliance  of 
five  independent  tribes,  they  always  presented  a  united  front 
to  their  foes,  -whether  in  defense  or  aggression.  Their  ene- 
mies, the  Algonquins,  held  an  extensive  domain  on  the 
northern  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  these  last  were  at  one 
time  the  masters  of  all  that  portion  of  America,  and  were 
the  most  polished  and  mildest  in  manners  of  the  northern 
tribes.  They  depended  altogether  for  subsistence  on  the 
produce  of  the  chase,  and  disdained  those  among  their  neigh- 
bors who  attempted  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  The  Hurons  * 
were   a  numerous  nation,  generally  allied  with  the  Algon- 

leur  Dixi ;  et  de  Kouc,  qui  est  un  cri,  tantot  de  tristesse,  lorsqu'  on 
le  prononce  en  trainant,  et  tantot  de  joie,  loi'squ'  on  le  prononce  plus 
court.  Leur  nom  propre  est  Agonnonsionni,  qui  veut  dire,  Faiseurs 
de  Cabannes ;  parcequ'ils  les  batissent  beaucoup  plus  solides,  que  la 
plupart  des  autres  sauvages." — Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  421. 

Lafitau  gives  the  Iroquois  the  same  name  of  Agonnonsionni ;  they 
used  to  say  of  themselves  that  the  five  nations  of  which  they  were 
composed  formed  but  one  "  Cabane." 

*  "  Le  Pere  Brebeuf  comptoit  environ  trente  mille  ames  de  vrais 
Hurons,  distribues  en  vingt  villages  de  la  nation.  II  y  avoit  outre 
cela,  douzo  nations  sedentaires  et  nombreuses,  qiai  parloient  leuv 
langne.  La  plupart  de  ces  nations  ne  subsistent  plus,  les  Iroquois  ces 
ont  detruites.  Les  vrais  Hurons  sont  reduits  aujourd'hui  a  la  petite 
mission  de  Lorette,  qui  est  pres  de  Quebec,  ou  I'on  voit  le  Christian- 
isme  fleurir  avec  I'edification  de  tous  les  Francais,  a  la  nation  des 
Tionnontates  qui  sont  etablis  au  Detroit,  et  ii  une  autre  nation  qui  s'est 
refugfiee  a  la  Carolina." — Charlevoix,  1721. 

"  The  Tionnontates  mentioned  above  now  bear  the  name  of  Wyan- 
dots,  and  arc  a  striking  exception  to  the  degeneracy  which  usually 
attends  the  intercourse  of  Indians  with  Europeans.  The  Wyandols 
have  all  the  energy  of  the  savage  warrior,  with  the  intelligence  and 
docility  of  civilized  troops.  They  are  Christians,  and  remarkable  for 
orderly  and  inoffensive  conduct ;  but  as  enemies,  they  are  among  the 
most  dreadful  of  their  race.  They  were  all  mounted  (in  the  war  of 
1812—13),  fearless,  active,  enterprising;  to  contend  with  them  in  the 
forest  was  hopeless,  and  to  avoid  their  pursuit,  impossible. 

"  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  Wyandots  are  the  only  part  of 
the  Huron  nation  who  ever  joined  in  alliance  with  the  English.  The 
mass  of  the  Hurons  were  always  the  faithful  friends  of  the  French 
during  the  times  of  the  early  settlement  of  Canada." — Qjiarterly  Re- 
view. 


168  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

quins,  inhabiting  the  immense  and  fertile  territory  extending 
westward  to  the  Great  Lake,  from  which  they  take  their 
name  :  they  occupied  themselves  with  a  rude  husbandry, 
which  the  fertile  soil  of  the  west  repaid,  by  afibrding  them 
an  abundant  subsistence  ;  but  they  were  more  effeminate 
and  luxurious  than  their  neighbors,  and  inferior  in  savage 
virtue  and  independence.  The  above-named  nations  were 
those  principally  connected  with  the  events  of  Canadian 
history. 

Man  is  less  afiected  by  climate  in  his  bodily  development 
than  any  other  animal ;  his  frame  is  at  the  same  time  so 
hardy  and  flexible,  that  he  thrives  and  increases  in  every 
variety  of  temperature  and  situation,  from  the  tropic  to  the 
pole  ;  nevertheless,  in  extremes  such  as  these,  his  complexion, 
size,  and  vigor  usually  undergo  considerable  modifications.* 
Among  the  Red  Men  of  America,  however,  there  is  a  re- 

*  The  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  are  as  unfavorable  to  intellectual 
as  to  physical  superiority,'  a  fact  which  may  be  easily  traced  through- 
out the  vast  and  varied  extent  of  the  two  Americas.  "  As  far  as  the 
parallel  of  53°,  the  temperature  of  the  northwest  coast  of  America  is 
milder  than  that  of  the  eastern  coasts  :  we  are  led  to  expect,  there- 
fore, that  civilization  had  anciently  made  some  progres.s  in  this  climate, 
and  even  in  higher  latitudes.  Even  in  our  own  times,  we  perceive 
that  in  the  59th  degree  of  latitude,  in  Cox's  Channel  and  Norfolk 
Sound,  the  natives  have  a  decided  taste  for  hieroglyphical  paintings 
on  wood." — Humboldt  on  the  Ancient  Inhabitants  of  America. 

Ic  has  been  ascertained  that  this  western  coast  is  populous,  and  the 
race  somewhat  superior  to  the  other  Indians  in  arts  and  civilization. — 
Ramusio,  tom.  iii.,  p.  297-303;  Venegas's  California,  Part  ii.,  h  ii- 

"  From  the  happy  coincidence  of  various  circumstances,  man  raises 
himself  to  a  certain  degree  of  cultivation,  even  in  climates  the  least 
favorable  to  the  development  of  organized  beings.  Near  the  polar 
circle,  in  Iceland,  in  the  twelfth  century,  we  know  the  Scandinavians 
cultivated  literature  and  the  arts  with  more  success  than  the  inhai)- 
itants  of  Denmark  and  Prussia." — Humboldt. 

'  The  most  temperate  climate  lies  between  the  40th  and  50lli  degree  of  latitude, 
and  it  produces  the  moKt  handsome  and  beautiful  people.  It  is  from  this  climate  that 
the  ideas  of  the  genuine  color  of  mankind  and  of  the  various  degrees  of  beauty  ought  to 
b«  derived.  The  two  extremes  are  equally  remote  from  truth  and  from  beauty.  The 
civilized  countries  situated  under  this  zone  are  Georgia,  Circassia,  the  Ukraine,  Tur- 
key in  Europe,  Hungary,  the  Kouth  of  Germany,  Italy,  Switzerland,  France,  and  the 
northern  parts  of  Spain.  The  natives  of  these  territories  arc  the  most  handsome  and 
most  beautiful  people  in  the  world. — Buffon,  English  trans.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  205. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  109 

markable  similarity  of  countenance,  form,  manners,  and 
habits,  in  every  part  of  the  continent.  No  other  race  can 
show  people  speaking  different  languages,  inhabiting  widely 
different  climates,  and  subsisting  on  different  food,  who  arc 
so  wonderfully  alike.*  There  are,  indeed,  varieties  of  stature, 
strength,  intellect,  and  self-respect  to  be  found  among  them ; 
but  the  savage  of  the  frozen  north,  and  the  Indian  of  the 
tropics,  have  the  same  stamp  of  person,  and  the  same  in- 
stincts, t  There  is  a  language  of  signs  common  to  all,  con- 
veying similar  ideas,  and  providing  a  means  of  mutual 
intelligence  to  every  Red  Man  from  north  to  south. 

The   North   American    Indians    are   generally   of  a   fair 

*  Mr.  Flint  says,  "  I  have  inspected  the  northern,  middle,  and 
southern  Indians  for  a  length  of  ten  years ;  my  opportunities  of  ob- 
servation have,  therefore,  been  considerable,  and  I  do  not  undertake 
to  form  a  judgment  of  their  character  without,  at  least,  having  seen 
much  of  it.  I  have  been  forcibly  struck  by  a  general  resemblance  in 
their  countenance,  make,  conformation,  manners,  and  habits.  I  be- 
lieve that  no  race  of  men  can  show  people  who  .speak  different  lan- 
guages, inhabit  ditferent  climes,  and  subsist  on  different  food,  and  who 
are  yet  so  wonderfully  alike." — (1831.) 

Don  Antonio  Ulloa,  who  had  extensive  opportunities  of  forming  an 
opinion  on  the  natives  of  both  the  continents  of  America,  asserts  that 
"  If  we  have  seen  one  American,  wo  may  be  .said  to  have  seen  all, 
their  color  and  make  are  so  nearly  the  same." — Notic.  jlmericanas, 
p.  308.  See,  likewise,  Garcia,  Origin  de  los  Indios,  p.  55—242 ; 
Torquemada,  Monarch.  Indiana,  vol.  ii.,  p.  571. 

"If  we  except  the  northern  regions,  where  we  find  men  similar  to 
the  Laplanders,  all  the  rest  of  America  is  peopled  with  inhabitants 
among  whom  there  is  little  or  no  diversity.  This  great  uniformity 
among  the  natives  of  America  seems  to  proceed  from  their  living  all 
in  the  same  manner.  All  the  Americans  were,  or  still  are,  savages ; 
the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians  were  so  recently  polished  that  they  ought 
not  to  be  regarded  as  an  exception.  Whatever,  therefore,  was  the 
origin  of  these  savages,  it  seems  to  have  been  common  to  the  whole. 
All  the  Americans  have  sprung  from  the  same  source,  and  have 
preserved,  with  little  variation,  the  characters  of  their  race ;  foi"  they 
have  all  continued  in  a  savage  state,  and  have  followed  nearly  the 
same  mode  of  life.  Their  climates  are  not  so  unequal  with  regard  to 
heat  and  cold  as  those  of  the  ancient  continent,  and  their  establish- 
ment in  America  has  been  too  recent  to  allow  those  causes  which 
produce  varieties  sulTicient  time  to  operate  so  as  to  render  their  effects 
conspicuous." — Buffon,  Eug.  trans.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  1<S8. 

\  Sec  Appendix,  No,  XLVIII 
VOL.    i.—Il 


170  TUE    C'ONUUEriT    OF    CANAUA. 

height  and  proportion.  Deformities  or  personal  defects* 
are  rare  among  them  ;  and  they  are  never  seen  to  fall  into 
corpulency.  Their  features,  naturally  pleasing  and  regular, 
are  often  distorted  by  absurd  attempts  to  improve  their 
beauty,  or  render  their  appearance  more  terrible.  They 
have  high  cheek  bones,  sharp  and  rather  aquiline  noses, 
and  good  teeth.  Their  skin  is  generally  described  as  red 
or  copper-colored,  approaching  to  the  tint  of  cinnamon  bark, 
a  complexion  peculiar  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  New  World. 
The  hair  of  the  Americans,  like  that  of  their  Mongolian 
ancestors,  is  coarse,  black,  thin,  but  strong,  and  growing  to 
a  great  length.  Many  tribes  of  both  these  races  remove  it 
from  every  part  of  the  head  except  the  crown,  where  a 
small  tuft  is  left,  and  cherished  with  care.  Jt  is  a  universal 
habit  among  the  tribes  of  the  New  World  to  eradicate 
every  symptom  of  beard  :  hence  the  early  travelers  were 
led  to  conclude  that  the  smoothness  of  their  faces  resulted 
from  a  natural  deficiency.  One  reason  for  the  adoption  of 
this  strange  custom  was  to  enable  them  to  paint  themselves 
with  greater  ease.  Among  old  men,  who  have  become 
indifierent  to  their  appearance,  the  beard  is  again  seen  to  a 
small  extent.! 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XLIX. 

t  There  would  never  have  been  any  difTerence  of  opinion  between 
physiologists,  as  to  the  existence  of  the  beard  among  the  Americans, 
if  the>  had  paid  attention  to  what  the  first  historians  of  the  conquest 
of  their  country  have  said  on  this  subject ;  for  example,  Pigafella,  in 
1519,  in  his  Journal  preserved  in  the  Ambrosian  library  at  JMilan,  and 
published  (in  1800)  by  Amoretti,  p.  18. — Benzoni,  Hist,  del  Mundo 
Niwvo,  p.  35,  1572;  Bembo,  Hist.  Vcnet.,  p.  86,  1557;  Humboldt's 
Fersonal  Narrative,  vol.  iii.,  p.  235. 

"  The  Indians  have  no  beard,  because  they  use  certain  receipts  to 
extirpate  it,  which  they  will  not  communicate." — Oldmixon,  vol.  i., 
p.  286. 

"  Plxperience  has  made  known  that  these  receipts  were  little  shells 
which  they  used  as  tweezers ;  since  they  have  become  acquainted 
with  metals,  they  have  invented  an  instrument  consisting  of  a  piece 
of  brass  wire,  rolled  round  a  piece  of  wood  the  size  of  the  finger,  so 
a.s  to  form  a  special  spring  :  this  grasps  the  hairs  within  its  turns,  and 
pulls  out  several  at  once.  No  wonder  if  this  jiractice,  continued  for 
several  generations,  should  enfeeble  the  roots  of  the  beard.  Did  the 
practice  of  eradicating  the  beard,  originate  from  the  design  of  dcpriv- 


THK  UONUUEST  Ul"  CANADA.  171 

« 

On  the  continent,  especially  toward  the  north,  the  natives 
were  of  robust  and  vigorous  constitution.  Their  sole  employ- 
ment was  the  chase  of  the  numerous  wild  animals  of  the 
forest  and  prairies  :  from  their  continual  activity,  their  frame 
acquired  firmness  and  strength  ;  *  but  in  the  islands,  where 
game  was  rare,  and  the  earth  supplied  spontaneously  au 
abundant  subsistence,  the  Indians  were  comparatively  feeble, 
being  neither  inured  to  the  exertions  of  the  chase  nor  the 
labors  of  cultivation.  Generally,  the  Americans  were  more 
remarkable  for  agility  than  strength,  and  are  said  to  have 
been  more  like  beasts  of  prey  than  animals  formed  for  labor. 
Toil  was  hateful,  and  eveii  destructive  to  them  ;  they  broke 
down  and  perished  under  tasks  that  would  not  have  wearied 
a  European.  Experience  proves  that  the  physical  strength 
of  civilized  man  exceeds  that  of  the  savage. f  Hand  to  hand 
in  war,  in  wrestling,  leaping,  and  even  in  running  for  a  short 
distance,  this  superiority  usually  appears.  In  a  long  journey, 
however,  the  endurance  of  the  Indian  has  no  parallel  among 
Europeans.  A  Red  Man  has  been  known  to  travel  nearly 
eighty  miles  between  sunrise  and  sunset,  without  apparent 
fatigue.  He  performs  a  long  journey,  bearing  a  heavy  bur- 
den, and  indulging  in  no  refreshment  or  repose  ;  an  enemy 
can  not  escape  his  persevering  pursuit,  even  when  mounted 
on  a  strong  horse. 

It  has  been  already  observed  that  the  Americans  are 
rarely  or  never  deformed,  or  defective  in  their  senses,  while 
in  their  wild  state,  but  in  those  districts  where  the  restraints 
of  law  are  felt,  an  extraordinary  number  of  blind,  deaf, 
dwarfs,   and   cripples,   are  observed.      The  terrible   custom 

ing  the  enemy  of  such  a  dangerous  hold  on  the  face  ?  This  seems  to 
me  probable."' — Volney,  p.  412. 

*  When  the  statue  of  Apollo  Belvedere  was  shown  to  Benjamin 
West  on  his  first  arrival  at  Rome,  he  exclaimed,  "  It  is  a  model  from 
a  young  North  American  Indian." — Ancient  America. 

t  "  It  is  a  notorious  fact,  that  every  European  who  has  embraced 
the  savage  life  has  become  stronger  and  better  inured  to  every  ex- 
cess than  the  savages  themselves.  The  superiority  of  the  people  of 
Virginia  and  Kentucky  over  them  has  been  confirmed,  not  only  in 
troop  opposed  to  troop,  but  man  to  man,  in  all  their  wars."' — Volney, 
p.  417. 


172  THE  CUNUUKST  OF  CANADA. 

• 

among  the  savage  tribes  of  destroy  ng  those  children  who  do 
not  promise  a  vigorous  growth,  accounts  for  this  apparent 
anomaly.  Infancy  is  so  long  and  helpless  that  it  wteighs  as 
a  heavy  burden  upon  a  wandering  people  ;  food  is  scanty  and 
uncertain  of  supply,  hunters  and  their  families  must  range 
over  extensive  countries,  and  often  remove  from  place  to 
place.  Judging  that  children  of  feeble  or  defective  formation 
are  not  likely  to  survive  the  hardships  of  this  errant  life,  they 
destroy  all  such  unpromising  offspring,*  or  desert  them  to  a 
slower  and  more  dreadful  fate.  The  lot  of  all  is  so  hard 
that  few  born  with  any  great  constitutional  defect  could  long 
survive,  and  arrive  at  maturity. 

In  the  simplicity  of  savage  life,  where  labor  does  not 
oppres:-,  nor  luxury  enervate  the  human  frame,  and  where 
harassing  cares  are  unknown,  we  are  led  to  expect  that 
disease  and  suffering  should  be  comparatively  rare,  and  that 
the  functions  of  nature  should  not  reach  the  close  of  their 
gradual  decay  till  an  extreme  old  age.  The  decrepit  and 
shriveled  forms  of  many  American  Indians  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  they  had  long  passed  the  ordinary  time  of  life. 
But  it  is  difficult  or  impossible  to  ascertain  their  exact  age, 
as  the  art  of  counting  is  generally  unknoM'n  among  them,  and 
they  are  strangely  forgetful  and  indiifereut  to  the  past.  Their 
longevity,  however,  varies  considerably,  according  to  difibr- 
ences  of  climate  and  habits  of  life.  These  children  of  nature 
are  naturally  free  from  many  of  the  diseases  afflicting  civil- 
ized nations ;  they  have  not  even  names  in  their  language  to 
distinguish  such  ills,  the  oflspring  of  a  luxury  to  them  un- 
known.     The  diseases  of  the  savage,  however,  though  few, 

*  Yet  infanticide  is  condemned  anionfr  the  Red  Indians  both  by  their 
theolofiy  and  their  feelinfjs.  Dr.  Richardson  relates  that  those  tribes 
who  hold  the  idea  that  "  the  souls  of  the  departed  have  to  Kcramble  up 
a  great  niountaiii,  at  \vhose  top  they  receive  the  reward  of  their  <Tood 
or  bad  deeds,  declare  that  women  who  have  been  guilty  of  infanticide 
never  reach  the  top  of  tliis  mountain  at  all.  They  are  compelled  in- 
stead to  travel  around  the  .scenes  of  their  crimes  with  branches  of  treos 
tied  to  their  legs.  The  melancholy  sounds  which  are  heard  in  the 
still  summer  evening.*,  and  which  the  ignorance  of  tlie  white  people 
looks  upon  as  the  screams  of  the  goat-suckers,  are  reall)',  according 
to  my  informant,  the  moanings  of  these  unhappy  beings  "—Franklin's 
Jourii')/  h)  tin'  Polio-  !<r(is.  p.  77.  7S. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  173 

are  violent  and  fatal ;  the  severe  hardships  of  his  mode  of 
life  produce  maladies  of  a  dangerous  description.  From 
improvidence  they  are  often  reduced  for  a  considerable  time 
to  a  state  bordering  on  starvation.  When  .successful  in  the 
chase,  or  in  the  seasons  when  earth  supplies  her  bounty,  they 
indulge  in  enormous  excesses.  These  extremes  of  want  and 
abundance  prove  equally  pernicious,  for,  although  habit  and 
necessity  enable  them  at  the  time  to  tolerate  such  sudden 
transitions,  the  constitution  is  ultimately  injured  :  disorders 
arising  from  these  causes  strike  down  numbers  in  the  prime 
and  vigor  of  youth,  and  are  so  common  that  they  appear  the 
necessary  consequences  of  their  mode  of  life.  The  Indian  is 
likewise  peculiarly  subject  to  consumption,  pleurisy,  asthma, 
and  paralysis,  engendered  by  the  fatigues  and  hardships  of 
the  chase  and  war,  and  constant  exposure  to  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold.  Experience  supports  the  conclusion  that  the 
average  life  is  greater  among  people  in  an  advanced  condition 
of  society  than  among  those  in  a  state  of  nature  ;  among 
savages,  all  are  affected  by  circumstances  of  over-exertion, 
privation,  and  excess,  but  in  civilized  societies  the  diseases 
of  luxury  only  affect  the  few. 


CHAPTEK.   VII. 


The  Indian  is  endowed  with  a  far  greater  acuteness  of 
sense  than  the  European.  Despite  the  dazzling  brightness 
of  the  long-continued  snows,  and  the  injurious  action  of  the 
smoke  of  burning  wood  to  which  he  is  constantly  exposed, 
he  possesses  extraordinary  quickness  of  sight.  He  can  also 
hear  and  distinguish  the  faintest  sounds,  alike  through  the 
gentle  rustling  of  the  forest  leaves  and  in  the  roar  of  the 
storm  ;  his  power  of  smell  is  so  delicate  that  he  scents  fire 
long  before  it  becomes  visible.  By  some  peculiar  instinct 
the  Indian  steers  through  the  trackless  forests,  over  the  vast 
prairies,  and  even  across  wide  sheets  of  water  with  -unerring 
certainty.      Under  the  gloomiest  and  most  obscure  sky,  he 


174  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

can  follow  the  course  of  the  sun  *  as  if  directed  by  a  compass. 
These  powers  would  seem  innate  in  this  mysterious  race  ; 
they  can  scarcely  be  the  fruit  of  observation  or  practice,  for 
children  who  have  never  left  their  native  village  can  direct 
their  course  through  pathless  solitudes  as  accurately  as  the 
experienced  hunter. 

In  the  early  stages  of  social  progress,  when  the  life  of 
man  is  rude  and  simple,  the  reason  is  little  exercised,  and 
his  wants  and  wishes  are  limited  within  narrow  bounds  ; 
consequently,  his  intellect  is  feebly  developed,  and  his  emo- 
tions are  few  but  concentrated.  These  conditions  were 
generally  observable  among  the  rudest  tribes  of  the  Amer- 
ican Indians. 

There  are,  however,  some  very  striking  peculiarities  in 
the  intellectual  character  of  the  Red  Men.  Without  any 
aid  from  letters  or  education,  some  of  the  lower  mental 
faculties  are  developed  in  a  remarkable  degree.  As  orators, 
strategists,  and  politicians,  they  have  frequently  exhibited 
very  great  power,  t  They  are  constantly  engaged  in  danger- 
ous and  difficult  enterprises,  where  ingenuity  and  presence  of 
mind  are  essential  for  their  preservation.  They  are  vigorous  in 
the  thought  which  is  allied  to  action,  but  altogether  incapable 
of  speculation,  deduction,  or  research.  The  ideas  and  atten- 
tion of  a  savage  are  confined  to  the  objects  relating  to  his  sub- 

*  "  At  night  the  savages  direct  their  course  by  the  polar  star;  they 
call  It  the  motionless  star.  It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  the  con- 
stellation of  the  Bear  should  be  called  by  the  .savasrcs  the  Bear.  This 
is  certainly  a  very  ancient  name  among  them,  and  given  long  before 
any  Europeans  visited  the  country.  They  turn  into  ridicule  the  large 
imaginary  tail  which  astronomers  have  aiven  to  an  animal  that  has 
scarcely  any  such  appendage,  and  tlie}'  call  the  three  stars  that  com- 
pose the  tail  of  the  Bear,  three  hunters  who  are  in  pursuit  of  it.  The 
second  of  these  stars  has  a  very  small  one  very  close  to  it.  This,  they 
say,  is  the  keltic  of  the  second  hunler,  who  is  the  bearer  of  the  bag- 
gage and  the  provision  belonging  to  all  three.'  The  savages  also  call 
the  Pleiades  'the  Dancers,'  and  Hygin  tells  us  that  they  were  thus 
called  by  the  ancients,  because  they  seem,  from  the  arrangement  of 
their  stars,  to  be  engaged  in  a  circular  dance." — Lafitau,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
236.     Hygin.,  lib.  ii.,  art.  Taurus. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  L. 

'  "  Even  at  the  present  lime"  (1720),  Lafitau  writes,  "  these  three  stars  arc  called 
in  Italy,  i  tre  cavaVi" — the  three  knights — on  the  celestial  globe  of  Caronelli. 


THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA.  175 

sistence,  safety,  or  indulgence  :  every  thing  else  escapes  his 
observation  or  excites  httie  interest  in  his  mind.  Many 
tribes  appear  to  make  no  arrangement  for  the  future ;  neither 
care  nor  forethought  prevents  them  from  bUndly  following  a 
present  impulse,  regardless  of  its  consequences. 

The  natives  of  North  America  were  divided  into  a  num- 
ber of  small  communities  ;  in  the  relation  of  these  to  each 
other,  war  or  negotiation  was  constantly  carried  on ;  revolu- 
tions, conquests,  and  alliances  frequently  occurred  among 
them.  To  raise  the  power  of  his  tribe,  and  to  weaken  or 
destroy  that  of  his  enemy,  was  the  great  aim  of  every  Indian. 
For  these  objects  schemes  were  profoundly  laid,  and  deeds 
of  daring  valor  achieved  :  the  refinements  of  diplomacy  were 
employed,  and  plans  arranged  with  the  most  accurate  calcu- 
lation. These  peculiar  circumstances  also  developed  the 
power  of  oratory  to  an  extraordinary  degree.*  Upon  all 
occasions  of  importance,  speeches  were  delivered  with  elo- 
quence, and  heard  with  deep  attention.  When  danger 
threatened,  or  opportunity  of  aggrandizement  or  revenge 
offered  itself,  a  council  of  the  tribe  was  called,  where  those 
most  venerable  from  age  and  illustrious  for  wisdom  deliber- 
ated for  the  public  good.  The  composition  of  the  Indian 
orator  is  studied  and  elaborate  ;  the  language  is  vigorous, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  highly  imaginative  ;  all  ideas  are 
expressed  by  figures  addressed  to  the  senses  ;  the  sun  and 
stars,  mountains  and  rivers,  lakes  and  forests,  hatchets  of 
war  and  pipes  of  peace,  fire  and  water,  are  employed  as 
illustrations   of  his   subject  with   almost  Oriental    art   and 

*  Charlevoix  says  that  the  eloquence  of  the  savages  was  such  as 
the  Greeks  admired  in  the  barbarians,  "strong,  stern,  sententious, 
pointed,  perfectly  undisguised." 

Decanesora's  oratory  was  greatly  admired  by  the  most  cultivated 
among  the  English  :  his  bust  was  said  to  resemble  that  of  Cicero. 
The  celebrated  address  of  Logan  is  too  well  known  to  be  cited  here. 
Mr.  Jefferson  says  of  it,  "I  may  challenge  the  whole  orations  of 
Demosthenes  and  Cicei'o,  and  of  any  other  more  eminent  orator,  if 
Europe  has  furnished  more  eminent,  to  produce  a  single  passage 
superior  to  the  speech  of  Logan."  An  American  statesman  and 
scholar,  scarcely  less  illustrious  than  the  former,  has  expressed 
his  readiness  to  subscribe  to  this  eulogium.  —  Clinton's  Historical 
Dinroursc,  1811. 


176  THE    CONaUEST    OF    CANAIM. 

richness.  His  eloquence  is  unassisted  by  action  or  varied 
intonation,  but  his  earnestness  excites  the  sympathy  of  the 
audience,  and  his  persuasion  sinks  into  their  hearts.  * 

The  want  of  any  written  or  hieroglyphic  records  of  the 
past  among  the  Northern  Indians  was,  to  some  extent,  sup- 
plied by  the  accurate  memories  of  their  old  men ;  they  were 
able  to  repeat  speeches  of  four  or  five  hours'  duration,  and 
delivered  many  years  before,  without  error  or  even  hesitation, 
and  to  hand  them  down  from  generation  to  generation  with 
equal  accuracy,  their  recollection  being  only  assisted  by 
small  pieces  of  wood  corresponding  to  the  different  subjects 
of  discourse.  On  great  and  solemn  occasions,  belts  of  wam- 
pum were  used  as  aid  to  recollection  whenever  a  conference 
was  held  with  a  neighboring  tribe,  or  a  treaty  or  compact  is 
negotiated.  One  of  these  belts,  differing  in  some  respects 
from  any  other  hitherto  used,  was  made  for  the  occasion  ; 
each  person  who  speaks  holds  this  in  his  hand  by  turns,  and 
all  he  says  is  recorded  in  the  "living  books"  of  the  by-stand- 
ers'  memory  in  connection  with  the  belt.  When  the  con- 
ference ends,  this  memorial  is  deposited  in  the  hands  of  the 
principal  chief.  As  soon  as  any  important  treaty  is  ratified, 
a  broad  wampum  belt  of  unusual  splendor  is  given  by  each 
contracting  party  to  the  other,  and  these  tokens  are  deposited 
among  the  other  belts,  that  form,  as  it  were,  the  archives  of 
the  nation.  At  stated  intervals  they  are  reproduced  before 
the  people,  and  the  events  which  they  commemorate  are 
circumstantially  recalled.  Certain  of  the  Indian  women 
are  intrusted  with  the  care  of  these  belts  :  it  is  their  duty 
to  relate  to  the  children  of  the  tribe  the  circumstances  of 
each  treaty  or  conference,  and  thus  is  Icept  alive  the  remem- 
brance of  every  important  event. 

*  Catlin  gives  the  following  accovint  of  a  native  preacher,  knovva 
b}'  the  name  of  the  Shawnee  Prophet :  "I  soon  learned  that  he  wa.s  a 
very  devoted  Christian,  regularly  holding  meetings  in  his  tribe  on  the 
Sabbath,  preaching  to  them,  and  exhorting  them  to  a  belief  in  the 
Christian  relit^ion,  and  to  an  abandonment  of  the  fatal  habit  of  whisky- 
drinking.  I  went  on  the  Sabbath  to  hear  tliis  eloquent  man  preach, 
when  he  had  his  people  assembled  in  the  woods;  and  although  I  could 
not  understand  his  language,  I  was  surprised  and  pleased  with  the 
natural  ease,  and  emphasis,  and  gesticulation  which  carried  their  owa 


THE  CONaUEoT  OF  CANADA.  177 

On  tho  matters  falling  within  his  limited  comprehension, 
the  Indi  m  often  displays  a  correct  and  solid  judgment ;  he 
pursues  his  object  without  hesitation  or  diversion.  He  is 
quickly  perceptive  of  simple  facts  or  ideas,  but  any  artificial 
combination  or  mechanical  contrivance  he  is  slow  to  com- 
prehend, especially  as  he  considers  every  thing  beneath  his 
notice  which  is  not  necessary  to  his  advantage  or  enjoyment. 
It  is  very  difficult  to  engage  him  in  any  labor  of  a  purely 
mental  character,  but  he  often  displays  vivacity  and  ardor  in 
matters  that  interest  him,  and  is  frequently  quick  and  happy 
in  repartee.* 

evidence  of  the  eloquence  of  hi.s  sermon.  I  was  singularly  struck 
with  the  noble  efforts  of  this  champion  of  the  mere  remnant  of  a  poi- 
soned race,  so  strenuously  laboring  to  rescue  the  remainder  of  his 
people  from  the  deadly  bane  that  has  been  brought  among  them  by 
enlightened  Christians.  It  is  quite  certain  that  his  exemplary  endea- 
vors have  completely  abolished  the  practice  of  drinking  whisky  in  his 
tribe." — Catlin,  vol.  ii.,  p.  98. 

*  "  Whatever  may  be  the  estimate  of  the  Indian  character  in  other 
respects,  it  is  with  me  an  undoubting  conviction,  that  they  are  by  na- 
ture a  shrewd  and  intelligent  race  of  men,  in  no  wise,  as  regards  com- 
bination of  thought  or  quickness  of  apprehension,  inferior  to  uneducated 
white  men.  This  inference  I  deduce  from  having  instructed  Indian 
children.^  I  draw  it  from  having  seen  the  men  and  women  in  all 
situations  calculated  to  try  and  call  forth  their  capacities.  When  they 
examine  any  of  our  invention:^,  steamboats,  steam-mills,  and  cotton 
factories,  for  instance ;  when  they  contemplate  any  of  our  institutions 
in  operation,  by  some  quick  analysis  or  process  of  reasoning,  they  seem 
immediately  to  comprehend  the  principle  or  the  object.  No  spectacle 
affords  them  more  delight  than  a  large  and  orderly  school.  They  seem 
instinctively  to  comprehend,  at  least  they  explained  to  me  that  they 
felt,  the  advantages  which  this  order  of  things  gave  our  children  over 
theirs." — Flint's  Ten  Years  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  1831. 

Mr.  Flint,  an  experienced  and  intelligent  observer,  takes  so  dark  a 
view  of  the  moral  character  of  the  Red  Indian  that  his  favorable  opinion 
of  their  mental  faculties  may  be  looked  upon  as  probably  accurate, 
though  differing  strongly  from  that  more  generally  held.  On  the  other 
side  of  tho  question,  among  the  early  writers  may  be  cited  M.  Bouguer, 
VoyageauPerou,  Tp.  102;  Voyaged^  Ulloa,  torn,  i.,  p.  335— 337.    "They 

1  All  those  who  have  expressed  an  opinion  on  the  subject  seem  to  agree  that  children 
of  most  native  races  are  fully,  or  more  than  a  match,  for  those  of  Europeans,  in  aptitude 
for  intellectual  acquirement.  Indeed,  it  appears  to  be  a  singular  law  of  Nature,  that 
there  is  less  precocity  in  the  European  race  than  almost  any  other.  In  those  races  in 
which  we  seem  to  have  reason  for  believing  that  the  intellectual  organization  is  lower, 
pprceptiun  is  quicker,  and  maturity  earlier. — Merivale  On  ('olonization,  vol.  ii  ,  p,  197. 

11^  ' 


178        THE  coxauEST  of  Canada. 

The  Red  INIan  is  usually  characterized  by  a  cerlaift  savage 
elevation  of  soul  and  calm  self-possession,  that  all  the  aid  of 
religion  and  philosophy  can  not  enable  his  civilized  brethren 
to  surpass.  Master  of  his  emotions,  the  expression  of  his 
countenance  rarely  alters  for  a  moment  even  under  the  most 
severe  and  sudden  trials.  The  prisoner,  uncertain  as  to  the 
fate  that  may  befall  him,  preparing  for  his  dreadful  death, 
or  racked  by  agonizing  tortures,  still  raises  his  unfaltering 
voice  in  the  death  song,  and  turns  a  fearless  front  toward 
his  tormentors.* 

.seem  to  live  in  a  perpetual  infancy,"  is  the  striking  expression  of  De 
la  Condamine,  Voyage  de  la  Riv.  Jlmazon,  p.  52,  53.  Chauvelon, 
Voyage  a  la  Martinique,  p.  44,  50.  P.  Venegas,  Hist,  de  la  Californie. 
*  "  Thus,  on  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  the  virtues  of  the  savages 
are  reducible  to  intrepid  courage  in  danger,  unshaken  firmness  amid 
tortures,  contempt  of  pain  and  death,  and  patience  under  all  the  anxieties 
and  distresses  of  life.  No  doubt  these  are  useful  qualities,  but  they 
are  all  confined  to  the  individual,  all  selfish,  and  without  any  benefit 
to  the  society.  Farther,  they  are  proofs  of  a  life  truly  wretched,  and  a 
social  state  so  depraved  or  null,  that  a  man,  neither  finding  nor  hoping 
any  succor  or  assistance  from  it,  is  obliged  to  wTap  himself  up  in 
despair,  and  endeavor  to  harden  himself  against  the  strokes  of  fate. 
Still  it  may  be  urged  that  these  men,  in  their  leisure  hours,  laugh, 
sing,  play,  and  live  without  care  for  the  past. as  well  as  for  the  future. 
Will  you  then  deny  that  they  are  happier  than  we  ?  Man  is  such  a 
pitiable  and  variable  creature,  and  habits  have  such  a  potent  sway  over 
him,  that  in  the  most  disastrous  situations  he  always  finds  some  posture 
that  gives  him  ease,  something  that  consoles  him.  and,  by  comparison 
with  ]>ast  suflerinir,  appears  to  him  well-being  and  happiness ;  but  if 
to  laugh,  sing,  or  play  constitute  bliss,  it  must  likewise  be  granted  that 
soldiers  arc  perfectly  happy  beings,  since  there  are  no  men  more  care- 
less or  more  gay  in  dangers  or  on  the  eve  of  battle.  It  must  be 
granted,  too,  that  during  the  Revolution,  in  the  most  fatal  of  our  jails, 
the  Conciergerie,  the  prisoners  were  very  happy,  since  they  were,  in 
general,  more  careless  and  gay  than  their  keepers,  or  than  those  who 
only  feared  the  same  fate.  The  anxieties  of  those  who  were  at  large 
were  as  numerous  as  the  enjoyments  they  wished  to  preserve ;  they 
who  were  in  the  other  prisons  felt  but  one,  that  of  preserving  their 
lives.  In  the  Conciergerie,  where  a  man  was  condemned  in  expecta- 
tion or  in  realit}',  he  had  no  longer  any  care ;  on  the  contrary,  every 
moment  of  life  was  an  accjuisition,  the  gain  of  a  good  that  was  con- 
sidered as  lost.  Such  is  nearly  the  situation  of  a  soldier  in  war,  and 
such  is  really  that  of  the  savage  throughout  the  whole  course  of  his 
life.  If  this  be  happiness,  wretched  indeed  must  be  the  country  where 
it  la  an  object  of  envy.  In  pursuing  my  investigation,  I  do  not  find 
/ 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  179 

The  art  of  numbering  Avas  unknown  in  some  American 
tribes,  and  even  among  the  most  advanced  it  was  very  im- 
perfect ;  the  savage  had  no  property  to  estimate,  no  coins  to 
count,  no  variety  of  ideas  to  enumerate.  Many  nations  could 
not  reckon  above  three,  and  had  no  words  in  their  language 
to  distinguish  a  greater  number  ;  some  proceeded  as  far  as 
ten,  others  to  twenty  ;  when  they  desired  to  convey  an  idea 
of  a  larger  amount,  they  pointed  to  the  hair  of  the  head,  or 
declared  that  it  could  not  be  counted.  Compi;tation  is  a 
mystery  to  all  rude  nations  ;  when,  however,  they  acquire  the 
knowledge  of  a  number  of  objects,  and  find  the  necessity  of 
combining  or  dividing  them,  their  acquaintance  with  arith- 
metic increases  ;  the  state  of  this  art  is  therefore,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  a  criterion  of  their  degree  of  progress.  The 
wise  and  politic  Iroquois  had  advanced  the  farthest,  but  even 

that  I  am  led  to  more  advantageous  ideas  of  the  liberty  of  the  savage  ; 
on  the  contrary,  I  see  in  him  only  the  slave  of  his  wants,  and  of  the 
freaks  of  a  sterile  and  parsimonious  nature.  Food  he  has  not  at  hand  ; 
rest  is  not  at  his  command ;  he  must  run,  weary  himself,  endure  hun- 
ger and  thirst,  heat  and  cold,  and  all  the  inclemency  of  the  elements 
and  seasons ;  and  as  the  ignorance  in  which  he  was  born  and  bred 
gives  him  or  leaves  him  a  multitude  of  false  and  irrational  ideas  and 
superstitious  prejudices,  he  is  likewise  the  slave  of  a  number  of  errors 
and  passions,  from  which  civilized  man  is  exempted  by  the  science  and 
knowledge  of  every  kind  that  an  improved  state  of  society  has  produced."' 
— Volney's  Travels  in  the  United  States,  p.  467. 

"  Their  impassible  fortitude  and  endurance  of  suffering  are,  after  all, 
in  my  mind,  the  result  of  a  greater  degree  of  physical  insensibility.  It 
has  been  told  me,  and  I  believe  it,  that  in  amputation  and  other  sur- 
gical operations,  their  nerves  do  not  shrink,  do  not  show  the  same 
tendency  to  spasm  with  those  of  the  whites.  When  the  savage,  to 
explain  his  insensibility  to  cold,  called  upon  the  white  man  to  recollect 
how  little  his  own  face  was  affected  by  it,  in  consequence  of  its  con- 
stant exposure,  he  added,  '  My  body  is  all  face.' '  This  increasing 
insensibility,  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation,  finally  becomes 
inwrought  with  the  whole  web  of  animal  nature,  and  the  body  of  the 
savage  seems  to  have  little  more  sensibility  than  the  hoofs  of  horses." 
— Flint's  Ten  Years  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississvp]n.  See,  also,  Ulloa's 
Notic.  ^mer.,  p.  313. 

Charlevoix  quotes  a  passage  from  Cicero  to  the  effect  that  "  I'habi- 
tude  au  travail  donne  de  la  facilite  a  supporter  la  douleur." — 2  Tusc, 
25. 

1  Delicacy  of  skin  is  observed  to  be  in  proportion  to  civilization  among  nations,  in 
proportion  to  degrees  of  refinement  among  individuals. — Sharon  Turner. 


180  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

they  had  not  got  beyond  one  thousand  ;   the  smaller  tribes 
seldom  reached  above  ten. 

The  first  ideas  are  suggested  to  the  mind  of  man  by  the 
senses  :  the  Indian  acquires  no  other.  The  objects  around 
him  are  all  important ;  if  they  be  available  for  his  present 
purposes,  they  attract  his  attention,  other-wise  they  excite  no 
curiosity  :  he  neither  combines  nor  arranges  them,  nor  does 
he  examine  the  operations  of  his  own  mind  upon  them  ;  he 
has  no  abstract  or  universal  ideas,  and  his  reasoning  powers 
are  generally  employed  upon  matters  merely  obvious  to  the 
senses.  In  the  languages  of  the  ruder  tribes  there  were  no 
words  to  express  any  thing  that  is  not  material,  such  as 
faith,  time,  imagination,  and  the  like.  When  the  mind  of 
the  savage  is  not  occupied  with  matters  relating  to  his  ani- 
mal existence,  it  is  altogether  inactive.  In  the  islands,  and 
upon  the  exuberant  plains  of  the  south,  where  little  exertion 
of  ingenuity  was  required  to  obtain  the  necessaries  of  life, 
the  rational  faculties  were  freqently  dormant,  and  the  coun- 
tenance remained  vacant  and  inexpressive.  Even  the  supe- 
rior races  of  the  north  loiter  away  their  time  in  thoughtless 
iiadolence,  when  not  engaged  in  war  or  the  chase,  deeming 
other  objects  unworthy  of  their  consideration.  "\^Tiere  reason 
is  so  limited  in  a  field  for  exertion,  the  mind  can  hardly  ac- 
quire any  considerable  degree  of  vigor  or  enlargement.  In 
civilized  life  men  are  urged  to  activity  and  perseverance  by 
a  desire  to  gratify  numerous  artificial  wants  ;  but  the  neces- 
sities of  the  Indian  are  few,  and  provided  for  by  nature 
almost  spontaneously.  He  detests  labor,  and  will  sometimes 
sit  for  whole  days  together  without  uttering  a  word  or 
changing  his  posture.  Neither  the  hope  of  reward  nor  the 
prospect  of  future  want  can  overcome  this  inveterate  indo- 
lence. 

Among  the  northern  tribes,  however,  dwelling  under  a 
rigorous  climate,  some  efibrts  are  employed,  and  some  pre- 
cautions taken,  to  procure  subsistence  ;  but  the  necessary 
industry  is  even  there  looked  upon  as  a  degradation  :  the 
greater  part  of  the  labor  is  performed  by  women,  and  man 
will  only  stoop  to  those  portions  of  the  work  which  he  con- 
siders least  ignominious.      This  industry,   so   oppressive   to 


THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA.  181 

one  half  of  the  community,  is  very  partial,  and  directed  by 
a  limited  foresight.  During  one  part  of  the  year  they  depend 
upon  fishing  for  a  subsistence,  during  another  upon  the  chase, 
and  the  produce  of  the  ground  is  their  resource  for  the  third. 
Regardless  of  the  warnings  of  experience,  they  neglect  to 
apportion  provision  for  their  wants,  or  can  so  little  restrain 
their  appetites,  that,  from  imprudence  or  extravagance,  they 
often  are  exposed  to  the  miseries  of  famine  hke  their  ruder 
neighbors.  Their  sufferings  are  soon  forgotten,  and  the 
horrors  of  one  year  seem  to  teach  no  lesson  of  providence  for 
the  next. 

The  Indians,  for  the  most  part,  are  very  well  acquainted 
with  the  geography  of  their  own  country.  When  questioned 
as  to  the  situation  of  any  particular  place,  they  will  trace 
out  on  the  ground  with  a  stick,  if  opportunity  ofier,  a  toler- 
ably accurate  map  of  the  locality  indicated.  They  will 
show  the  course  of  the  rivers,  and,  by  pointing  toward  the 
sun,  explain  the  bearings  of  their  rude  sketch.  There  have 
been  recorded  some  most  remarkable  instances  of  the  accuracy 
with  which  they  can  travel  toward  a  strange  place,  even 
when  its  description  had  only  been  received  through  the 
traditions  of  several  generations,  and  they  could  have  pos- 
sessed no  personal  knowledge  whatever  of  the  surrounding 
country. 

The  religion  of  the  natives  of  America  can  not  but  be 
regarded  with  an  interest  far  deeper  than  the  gratification 
of  mere  curiosity.  The  forms  of  faith,  the  rites,  the  ideas 
of  immortality  ;  the  belief  in  future  reward,  in  fiiture  pun- 
ishment ;  the  recognition  of  an  invisible  Power,  infinitely 
surpassing  that  of  the  warrior  or  the  chief;  the  dim  tradi- 
tions of  a  first  parent,  and  a  general  deluge — all  these,  among 
a  race  so  long  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  human  family, 
distinct  in  language,  habits,  form,  and  mind,  and  displaying, 
when  societies  began  to  exist,  a  civilization  utterly  dissimilar 
from  any  before  known,  afibrd  subject  for  earnest  thought 
and  anxious  inquiry.  Those  who  in  the  earlier  times  of 
American  discovery  supplied  information  on  these  points, 
were  generally  little  qualified  for  the  task.  Priests  and  mis- 
sionaries alone  had  leisure  or  inclination  to  pursue  the  sub- 


182  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ject ;  and  their  minds  were  often  so  preoccupied  with  their 
own  peculiar  doctrines,  that  they  accommodated  to  them  all 
that  fell  under  their  observation,  and  explained  it  by  analo- 
gies which  had  no  existence  but  in  their  own  zealous  imag- 
inations. They  seldom  attempted  to  consider  what  they 
saw  or  heard  in  relation  to  the  rude  notions  of  the  savages 
themselves.  From  a  faint  or  fancied  similarity  of  peculiar 
Indian  superstitions  to  certain  articles  of  Christian  faith, 
some  missionaries  imagined  they  had  discovered  traces  of  an 
acquaintance  with  the  divine  mysteries  of  salvation  :  they 
concluded  that  the  savage  possessed  a  knowledge  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,*  of  the  Incarnation,  of  the  sacrifice 
of  a  Saviour,  and  of  sacraments,  from  their  own  interpret- 
ation of  certain   expressions   and    ceremonies.!       But  little 

*  Conical  stones,  wrapped  up  in  100  goat  skins,  were  the  idols 
preserved  in  the  temple  of  the  Natchez.  Many  authors  assert  that 
the  Amazons  and  many  Eastern  people  had  nothing  in  their  temples 
but  these  pyramidal  stones,  which  represented  to  them  the  Divinity. 

"  Peut-etre  aussi  vouloient  ils  (les  fondateurs  des  Pyramides) 

fignrer  en  meme  terns  la  Divinite,  et  ce  qui  leur  restoit  d'idees  du 
mystere  de  la  Sainte  Trinite,  dans  les  trois  faces  de  ces  pyramides. 
Du  moins  est  ce  ainsi  qu"aux  Indes  un  Brame  paroissoit  eoncevoir  les 
choses  et  s'expliquer  d'apres  les  anciennes.  '  II  faut,'  disoit  il,  '  se 
reprt'senler  Dicu  et  ses  trois  noms  dilferents  qui  repondent  a  ces  trois 
prinoipaux  attributs,  a  peu  prcs  sous  I'idec  de  ces  Pyramides  trian- 
gulaires  qu'on  voit  elevees  devant  la  poste  de  quelques  temples." — 
Lcttrc  du  Pcre  Bouchct  a  M.  Huct,  Eveque  (VJlvranches.  Three  logs 
are  always  employed  to  keep  up  the  fire  in  the  Natchez  temple. — 
Lafilau,  vol.  i.,  p.  167. 

Extract  from  a  dialogue  between  John  Wesley  and  the  Chickasaw 
Indians  : 

"  Wesley.  Do  you  believe  there  is  One  above  who  is  over  all 
things '? 

"  Answer.  We  believe  there  are  four  beloved  things  above — the 
clouds,  the  sun,  the  clear  .sky,  and  He  that  lives  in  the  clear  sky. 

'•  Wesley.  Do  you  believe  there  is  but  One  who  lives  in  the  clear 
sky? 

"  Jlnswcr.  We  believe  there  arc  two  with  Him,  three  in  all." — 
Wesley's  Journal^  No.  1.,  p.  39. 

t  See  Stephens's  "  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Central  America,"  vol.  ii., 
p.  346. 

"  Les  croix  qui  ont  tant  excite  la  curiosite  des  conquistadores  a 
Coqumel,  si  Yucatan,  et  dans  dautres  contrees  de  I'Amerique  ne  sont 
pas  'des  contes  de  mnines,'  et  meritent,  cnmnio  lout  ce  ((ui  a  rapport 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CAXADA,  183 

confidence  can  be  placed  in  any  evidence  derived  from  such 
sources. 

The  earlier  travelers  in  the  interior  of  the  New  World 
received  the  impression  that  the  Indians  had  no  religious 
belief;  they  saw  neither  priests,  temples,  idols,  nor  sacrifices 
among  any  of  the  various  and  numerous  tribes.  A  further 
knowledge  of  this  strange  people  disproved  the  hastily-formed 
opinion,  and  showed  that  their  whole  life  and  all  their  actions 
were  influenced  by  a  belief  in  the  spiritual  world.*  It  is 
now  known  that  the  American  Indians  were  pre-eminent 
among  savage  nations  for  the  superior  purity  of  their  religious 
faith,!  and,  indeed,  over  even  the  boasted  elegance  of  poetical 

au  culte  des  peiiples  indigenes  du  Nouvean  Continent,  im  examen 
plus  serieux.  Je  me  sers  du  mot  culte,  car  un  relief  conserve  dans 
les  ruines  de  Palenque,  de  Guatemala,  et  dont  je  possede  une  copie,  ne 
me  parait  laisser  aucun  doute  qu'une  figure  symbolique  en  forme  de 
croix  etoit  un  objet  d'adoration.  II  faut  faire  observer  cependant  qu'a 
cette  croix  manque  le  prolongement  superieur,  et  qu'elle  forme  plutot 
la  lettre  taii..  Des  idees  qui  n'ont  aucun  rapport  avec  le  Christian- 
isme  ont  pu  etre  symboliquement  attachees  a  cet  erableme  Egyptien 
dHermes,  si  celebre  parmi  les  Chretiens  depuis  la  destruction  du 
temple  de  Serapis  a  Alexandrie  sous  Theodose  le  Grand.  (Rufinus, 
Hist.  Eccles.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xxix.,  p.  294  ;  Zozomenes,  Eccl.  Hist.. 
lib.  iii.,  cap.  xv.)  Un  baton  termine  par  une  croix  se  voit  dans  la 
main  d'Astarte  sur  les  monnaies  de  Sidon  au  3me  siecle  avant  notre 
ere.  En  Scandinavie,  un  signe  de  I'alphabet  runique  figurait  le 
marteau  de  Thor,  tres  semblable  a  la  croix  du  relief  de  Palenque. 
On  raarquoit  de  cette  7-une,  dans  les  tems  payens,  les  objets  qu'on 
vouloit  sanctifier."  (Voye*  I'excellent  Traite  de  M.  Guillaume 
Grimm,  Ueber  Deutsche  Runen,  p.  242.) — Humboldt,  Geographic  de 
Nouveau  Continent,  vol.  ii.,  p.  356. 

"Laet  avoue  qu'  Herrera  parle  d'une  espece  de  bapteme,  et  de  con- 
fession usitee  dans  Yucatan  et  dans  les  isles  voisines,  mais  il  ajoute 
qu'il  est  bien  plus  naturel  d'attribuer  toutes  ces  marques  equivoques 
de  Christianisme  qu'on  a  cru  apercevoir  en  plusieurs  pi-ovinces  du 
Nouveau  Monde  au  demon  qui  a  toujours  affeete  de  contrefaire  le  culte 
du  vrai  Dieu."  Charlevoix  adds^  "  Cette  remarque  est  de  tous  les 
bons  auleurs  qui  ont  parle  de  la  religion  des  peuples  nouvellement 
deeouverts,  et  fondee  sur  I'autorite  des  peres  de  I'Eglise."' — Charle- 
voix, tom.  v.,  p.  28. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  LI. 

t  "  The  most  sensual,  degraded,  and  least  intellectual  tribes  of 
Northern  Asia  and  America  have  purer  notions  of  a  Spiritual  Deity 
than  were  possessed  of  old  by  the  worshipers  of  Jupiter  and  Juno 
under  Pericles."' — Progression  by  Jlnlngonism. 


184  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

mythology.  From  the  reports  of  all  those  worthy  of  cre- 
dence, who  have  lived  intimately  among  these  children  of 
the  forest,  it  is  certain  that  they  firmly  believe  in  the  power 
and  unity  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  in  an  immortality  of 
happiness  or  misery.  They  worship  the  Great  Spirit,  the 
Giver  of  life,  and  attribute  to  him  the  creation  of  the  world, 
and  the  government  of  all  things  with  infinite  love,  wisdom, 
and  power.  Of  the  origin  of  their  religion  they  are  alto- 
gether ignorant.  In  general  they  believe  that,  after  the 
world  was  created  and  supplied  with  animal  life  by  the 
Great  Spirit,  he  formed  the  first  red  man  and  woman,  who 
were  very  large  of  stature,  and  iived  to  an  extreme  old  age ; 
that  he  often  held  council  with  his  creatures,  gave  them 
laws  and  instructed  them,  but  that  the  red  children  became 
rebels  against  their  Great  Father,  and  he  then  withdrew 
himself  in  sorrowful  anger  from  among  them,  and  left  them 
to  the  vexations  of  the  Bad  Spirit.  But  still  this  merciful 
Father,  from  afar  off,  where  he  may  be  seen  no  more, 
showers  down  upon  them  all  the  blessings  they  enjoy.  The 
Indians  are  truly  filial  and  sincere  in  their  devotions  ;  they 
pray  for  what  they  need,  and  return  hearty  thanks  for  such 
mercies  as  they  have  enjoyed.*     They  supplicate  him  to 

This,  according  to  Lord  Lindsay's  theory,  is  to  be  accounted  for 
by  the  absence  of  imagination,  these  nations  being  only  governed  by 
Sense  and  Spirit,  to  the  exclusion  of  intellect  in  either  of  its  manifesta- 
tions, Imagination,  or  Reason. — P.  2],  26. 

*  '•  At  the  breaking  up  of  the  winter,"  says  Hunter,  "  after  having 
supplied  ourselves  with  such  things  as  were  necessary  and  the  situa- 
tion afforded,  all  our  party  visited  the  spring  from  which  we  had 
procured  our  supplies  of  water,  and  there  offered  up  our  orisons  to 
the  Great  Spirit  for  having  preserved  us  in  health  and  safety,  and  for 
having  supplied  all  our  wants.  This  is  the  constant  practice  of  the 
Osagcs,  Kansas,  and  many  other  nations  of  Indians  on  breaking  up 
their  encampments,  and  is  by  no  means  an  unimportant  ceremony." 
The  habitual  piety  of  the  Indian  mind  is  remarked  by  Hcckoweidcr, 
and  strongly  insisted  upon  by  Hunter,  and  it  is  satisfactorily  proved 
by  the  whole  tenor  of  his  descriptions,  where  he  throws  himself  back. 
a.s  it  were,  into  the  feelings  peculiar  to  Indian  life.  And,  indeed, 
after  hearing  at  a  council  the  broken  fragments  of  an  Indian  harangue, 
however  imperfectly  rendered  by  an  ignorant  interpreter,  or  reading 
the  few  specimens  of  Indian  oratory  which  have  been  preserved  by 
translation,  no  one  can  fail  to  remark  a  nerpctnal  and  earnest  reference 


THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA.  185 

bestow  courage  and  skill  upon  them  in  the  battle  ;  the  endur- 
ance which  enables  them  to  mock  the  cruel  tortures  of  their 
enemies  is  attributed  to  his  aid  ;  their  preparation  for  war 
is  a  long-continued  religious  ceremony  ;  their  march  is  sup- 
posed to  be  under  omnipotent  guidance,  and  their  expeditions 
in  the  chase  are  held  to  be  not  unworthy  of  divine  super- 
intendence. They  reject  all  idea  of  chance  on  the  fortune 
of  war,  and  believe  firmly  that  every  result  is  the  decision 
of  a  Superior  Power.*  Although  this  elevated  conception 
of  the  One  Godf  is  deeply  impressed  upon  the  Indian's 
mind,  it  is  tainted  with  some  of  the  alloy  which  ever  must 
characterize  the  uninspired  faith.  Those  who  have  inquired 
into  the  religious  opinions  of  the  uneducated  and  laborious 
classes  of  men,  even  in  the  most  enlightened  and  civilized 
communities,  find  that  their  system  of  belief  is  derived  from 
instruction,  and  not  from  instinct  or  the  results  of  their  own 

to  the  power  and  goodness  of  the  Deity.  "  Brothers  !  we  all  belong 
to  one  family ;  we  are  all  children  of  the  Great  Spirit,"  was  the  com- 
mencement of  Teeumthe's  harangue  to  the  Osages ;  and  he  after- 
ward tells  them  :  "When  the  white  men  first  set  foot  on  our  grounds, 
they  were  hungry ;  they  had  no  places  on  which  to  spread  their 
blankets  or  to  kindle  their  fires.  They  were  feeble ;  they  could  do 
nothing  for  themselves.  Our  fathers  commiserated  their  distress,  and 
shared  freely  with  them  whatever  the  Great  Spirit  has  given  to  his 
red  children."' — Quarterly  Revieto. 

*  On  the  remarkable  occasion  on  which  our  forces  were  compelled, 
in  1813,  to  evacuate  the  Michigan  territory,  Tecumthe,  in  the  name 
of  his  nation,  refused  to  consent  to  retreat ;  he  closed  his  denial 
with  these  words:  "Our  lives  are  in  the  hand  of  the  Great  Spirit: 
He  gave  the  lands  which  we  possess  to  our  fathers ;  if  it  be  his  will, 
our  bones  .shall  whiten  upon  them,  but  we  will  never  quit  them." 
An  old  Oneida  chief,  who  was  blind  from  years,  observed  to  Hecke- 
welder,  "I  am  an  aged  hemlock;  the  winds  of  one  hundred  years 
have  whistled  through  my  branches  ;  I  am  dead  at  the  top.  Why  I 
yet  live,  the  great,  good  Spirit  only  knows."  This  venerable  father 
of  the  forest  lived  long  enough  to  be  converted  to  Christianity. — 
Quarterly  Review. 

t  A  Huron  woman  under  the  instruction  of  a  missionary,  who  de- 
tailed to  her  the  perfections  of  God,  exclaimed,  in  a  species  of  ecstasy, 
"  I  understand,  I  understand ;  and  I  always  felt  convinced  that  our 
Areskoui  was  exactly  such  a  one  as  the  God  you  have  described 
to  me." — Lafitau,  tom.  i.,  p.  127.  Tho  Great  Spirit  was  named 
Areskoui  among  the  Hurons,  Agriskouc  among  the  Iroquois,  Manitou 
among  the  Algonquins. 


186  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

examination  :  in  savage  life  it  is  vain  to  expect  that  men 
should  reason  accurately,  from  cause  to  eflect,  and  form  a 
just  idea  of  the  Creator  from  the  creation.  The  Indian 
combines  the  idea  of  the  Great  Spirit  with  others  of  a  less 
perfect  nature.  The  word  used  by  him  to  indicate  this 
Sovereign  Being  does  not  convey  the  notion  of  an  immaterial 
nature  ;  it  signifies  with  him  some  one  possessed  of  lofty 
and  mysterious  powers,  and  in  this  sense  may  be  applied  to 
men  and  even  to  animals. 

To  the  first  inquirers  into  the  religious  faith  of  the  native 
Americans,  the  subject  of  their  mythology  presented  very 
great  difficulties  and  complications  ;  those  Indians  who  at- 
tempted to  explain  it  to  Europeans  had  themselves  no  dis- 
tinct or  fixed  opinions.  Each  man  put  forward  peculiar 
notions,  and  was  constantly  changing  them,  without  attempt- 
ing to  reconcile  his  self-contradictions. 

Some  of  the  southern  tribes,  who  were  more  settled  in 
their  religious  faith,  exhibited  a  remarkable  degree  of  bigotry 
and  spiritual  pride.  They  called  the  Europeans  "  men  of 
the  accursed  speech,"  while  they  styled  themselves  "  the  be- 
loved of  the  Great  Spirit."  The  Canadian  and  other  north- 
ern nations,  however,  were  less  intolerant,  and  at  any  time 
easily  induced  to  profess  the  recantation  of  their  heathen 
errors  for  some  small  advantage.  Among  these  latter,  the 
hare  was  deemed  to  possess  some  mystic  superiority  over  the 
rest  of  the  animal  creation  ;  it  M'as  even  raised  to  be  an  ob- 
ject of  worship,  and  the  Great  Hare  was  confounded  in  their 
minds  with  the  Great  Spirit.  The  Algonquins  beheved  in 
a  Water  God,  who  opposes  himself  to  the  benevolent  designs 
of  the  Great  Spirit ;  it  is  strange  that  the  name  of  the  Great 
Tiger  should  be  given  to  this  Deity,  as  the  country  does  not 
produce  such  an  animal,  and  from  this  it  appears  probable 
that  the  tradition  of  his  existence  had  come  from  elsewhere. 
They  have  also  a  third  Deity,  who  presides  over  their  mnter 
season.  The  gods  of  the  Indians  have  bodies  like  the  sons 
of  men,  and  subsist  in  like  manner  with  them,  but  are  free 
from  the  pains  and  cares  of  mortality  ;  the  term  "  spirit" 
among  them  only  signifies  a  being  of  a  superior  and  more 
excellent  nature  than  riinn.      However,  they  believe  in  the 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  187 

omnipresence  of  their  deities,  and  invoke  their  aid  in  all 
times  and  places. 

Besides  the  Great  Spirit  and  the  lesser  deities  above 
mentioned,  every  Indian  has  his  own  Manitou,  Okki,  or 
guardian  power  ;  this  divinity's  presence  is  represented  by 
some  portable  object,  often  of  the  most  insignificant  nature, 
such  as  the  head,  beak,  or  claw  of  a  bird,  the  hoof  of  a  deer 
or  cow.  No  youth  can  be  received  among  the  brotherhood 
of  warriors  till  he  has  placed  himself,  in  due  form,  under  the 
care  of  this  familiar.  The  ceremony  is  deemed  of  great  im- 
portance :  several  days  of  strict  fasting  are  always  observed 
in  preparation  for  the  important  event,  and  the  youth's 
dreams  are  carefully  noted  during"  this  period.  While  under 
these  circumstances,  some  object  usually  makes  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  his  mind  ;  this  is  then  chosen  for  his  Manitou 
or  guardian  spirit,  and  a  specimen  of  it  is  procured.  He  is 
next  placed  for  some  time  in  a  large  vapor  bath,  and  hav- 
ing undergone  the  process  of  being  steamed,  is  laid  on  the 
ground,  and  the  figure  of  the  Manitou  is  pricked  on  his 
breast  with  needles  of  fish-bone  dipped  in  vermilion  ;  the 
intervals  between  the  scars  are  then  rubbed  with  gunpow- 
der, so  as  to  produce  a  mixture  of  red  and  blue.  When 
this  operation  is  performed,  he  cries  aloud  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  invoking  aid,  and  praying  to  be  received  as  a  war- 
rior. 

The  Indian  submits  with  resignation  to  the  chastening 
will  of  the  Great  Spirit.  When  overtaken  by  any  disaster, 
he  diligently  examines  himself  to  discover  what  omission  of 
observance  or  duty  has  called  down  the  jounishment,  and 
endeavors  to  atone  for  past  neglect  by  increased  devotion. 
But  if  the  Manitou  be  deemed  to  have  shown  want  of  abil- 
ity or  inclination  to  defend  him,  he  upbraids  the  guardian 
power  with  bitterness  and  contempt,  and  threatens  to  seek  a 
more  effectual  protector.  If  the  Manitou  continue  useless, 
this  threat  is  fulfilled.  Fasting  and  dreaming  are  again 
resorted  to  in  the  same  manner  as  before,  and  the  vision  of 
another  Manitou  is  obtained.  The  former  representation  is 
then,  as  much  as  possible,  effaced,  and  the  figure  of  the 
newly-adopted   amulet  painted  in  its  place.      All  the  vene- 


18S  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ration  and  confidence  forfeited  by  the  first  Manitou  is  now 
transferred  to  the  successor.* 

It  is  also  part  of  the  Indian's  rehgious  behef  that  there 
are  inferior  spirits  to  rule  over  the  elements,  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Supreme  Power,  he  being  so  great  that  he  must, 
like  their  chiefs,  have  attendants  to  execute  his  behests. 
These  inferior  spirits  see  what  passes  on  earth,  and  report 
it  to  their  Great  Ruler  :  the  Indian,  trusting  to  their  good 
offices,  invokes  these  spirits  of  the  air  in  times  of  peril,  and 
endeavors  to  propitiate  them  by  throwing  tobacco  or  other 
simple  offerings  to  the  winds  or  upon  the  waters.  But, 
amid  all  these  corrupt  and  ignorant  superstitions,  the  One 
Spirit,  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  World,  is  the  great 
object  of  the  Red  Man's  adoration.  On  him  they  rest  their 
hopes  ;  to  him  they  address  their  daily  prayers,  and  render 
their  solemn  sacrifice. 

The  worship  of  the  Indians,  although  frequently  in  pri- 
vate, is  generally  little  regulated  either  by  ceremonies  or 
stated  periodical  devotions.  But  there  are,  at  times,  great 
occasions,  when  the  whole  tribe  assembles  for  the  purpose,  t 
such  as  in  declaring  war  or  proclaiming  peace,  or  when 
visited  by  storms  or  earthquakes.  Their  great  feasts  all 
partake  of  a  religious  character ;  every  thing  provided  must 
be  consumed  by  the  assembly,  as  being  consecrated  to  the 
Great  Spirit.  The  OttaM^as  seem  to  have  had  a  more  com- 
plicated mythology  than  any  other  tribe  :  they  held  a  reg- 
ular festival  in  honor  of  the  sun  ;  and,  while  rendering 
thanks  for  past  benefit,  prayed  that  it  might  be  continued 
to  the  future.  They  have  also  been  observed  to  erect  an 
idol  in  their  village,  and  offer  it  sacrifice  :  this  ceremony 
was,  however,  very  rare.      Many  Western  tribes  visit  the 

*  Sec  Appendix,  No.  LII. 

t  Every  spring  the  Arkansa.s  go  in  a  body  to  some  retired  place, 
and  there  turn  up  a  large  .space  of  land,  which  they  do  with  the  drums 
beating  all  the  while.  After  this  they  call  it  the  Desart.  or  the  Field 
of  the  Spirit,  and  thither  they  go  when  they  are  in  their  enthusiastic 
fits,  and  there  wait  for  inspiration  from  their  pretended  deity.  In  the 
mean  while,  as  they  do  this  every  year,  it  proves  of  no  small  advan- 
tage to  them,  for  by  this  means  they  turn  up  all  their  land  by  degrees, 
and  it  becomes  abundantly  more  fruitful. — Tonti. 


THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA.  189 

spring  whence  they  have  been  supplied  with  water  during 
the  winter,  at  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice,  and  there  offer  up 
their  grateful  worship  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  having  pre- 
served them  in  health  and  safety,  and  having  supplied  their 
wants.  This  pious  homage  is  performed  with  much  cere- 
mony and  devotion. 

Among  this  rude  people,  who  were  at  one  time  supposed 
to  have  been  without  any  religion,  habitual  piety  may  be 
considered  the  most  remarkable  characteristic  :  every  action 
of  their  lives  is  connected  with  some  acknowledgment  of  a 
Superior  Power.  Many  have  imagined  that  the  severe  fasts 
sometimes  endured  by  the  Indians  were  only  for  the  purpose 
of  accustoming  themselves  to  support  hunger ;  but  all  the  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  these  voluntary  privations  leave 
no  doubt  that  they  were  solemn  religious  exercises.  Dreams 
and  visions  during  these  fasts  were  looked  upon  as  oracular, 
and  respected  as  the  revelations  of  Heaven.  The  Indian 
frequently  propitiates  the  favor  of  the  inferior  spirits  by 
vows ;  when  for  some  time  unsuccessful  in  the  chase,  or  suf- 
fering from  want  in  long  journeys,  he  promises  the  genius  of 
the  spot  to  bestow  upon  one  of  his  chiefs,  in  its  honor,  a  por- 
tion of  the  first  fruits  of  his  success  ;  *  if  the  chief  be  too 
distant  to  receive  the  gift,  it  is  burned  in  sacrifice. 

The  belief  of  the  Indian  in  a  future  state,  although  deeply 
cherished  and  sincere,  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  a  defined 
idea  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.t  There  is  little  spiritual 
or  exalted  in  his  conception.  When  he  attempts  to  Ibrm  a 
distinct  notion  of  the  spirit,  he  is  blinded  by  his  senses  ;   he 

*  Lafitau  as.serts  that  the  first  beast  killed  by  a  young  hunter  was 
always  offered  in  sacrifice. — Vol.  i.,  p.  515.  See  Catlin's  description 
of  the  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  practiced  when  the  first  fruits  of  corn 
are  ripe. — Catlin,  vol.  i.,  p.  189. 

t  Peter  Martyr  speaks  of  the  general  opinion  among  the  early  dis- 
coverers that  the  Indians  believed  in  a  species  of  immortality.  "They 
confess  the  soul  to  be  immortal ;  having  put  off  the  bodily  clothing,  they 
imagine  it  goeth  forth  to  the  woods  and  the  mountains,  and  that  it  liveth 
there  perpetually  in  caves  ;  nor  do  they  exempt  it  from  eating  or  drink- 
ing, but  that  it  should  be  fed  there.  The  answering  voices  heard  from 
caves  and  hollows,  which  the  Latines  call  echoes,  they  suppose  to  be  the 
souls  of  the  departed  wandering  through  those  places." — Peter  Martyr, 
Decad.  VIII..  cap.  ix  .  M.  Lock's  translation.  1()12. 


190  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

calls  it  the  shadow  or  image  of  his  body,  but  its  acts  and 
enjoyments  are  all  the  same  as  those  of  its  earthly  existence. 
He  only  pictures  to  himself  a  continuation  of  present  pleasures. 
His  Heaven  is  a  delightful  country,  far  away  beyond  the 
unknown  Western  seas,  where  the  skies  are  ever  bright  and 
serene,  the  air  genial,  the  spring  eternal,  and  the  forests 
abounding  in  game ;  no  war,  disease,  or  torture  are  known  in 
that  happy  land ;  the  sufferings  of  life  are  endured  no  more, 
and  its  sweetest  pleasures  are  perpetuated  and  increased  ; 
his  wife  is  tender  and  obedient,  his  children  dutiful  and  affec- 
tionate. In  this  country  of  eternal  happiness,  the  Indian 
hopes  to  be  again  received  into  the  favor  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
and  to  rejoice  in  his  glorious  presence.*  But  in  his  simple 
mind  there  is  a  deep  and  enduring  conviction  that  admission 
to  this  delightful  country  of  souls  can  only  be  attained  by 
good  and  noble  actions  in  this  mortal  life.  For  the  bad  men 
there  is  a  fate  terribly  different — endless  afflictions,  want,  and 
misery  ;  a  land  of  hideous  desolation  ;  barren,  parched,  and 
dreary  hunting-grounds,  the  abode  of  evil  and  malignant 
spirits,  whose  oflice  is  to  torture,  whose  pleasure  is  to  enhance 
the  misery  of  the  condemned.  It  is  also  almost  universally 
believed  that  the  Great  Spirit  manifests  his  wrath  or  his 
favor  to  the  evil  and  the  good  in  their  journey  to  the  land  of 
souls.  After  death  the  Indian  believes  that  he  is  supplied 
with  a  canoe  ;  and  if  he  has  been  a  virtuous  warrior,  or 
otherwise  worthy,  he  is  guided  across  the  vast  deep  to  a  haven 

*  "Une  jeune  sauvagesse  voyant  .sa  soBur  mounmtc,  par  la  quantito 
de  cigiM;  qui  die  avoit  pris  dans  uu  depit,  et  determine  a  ne  faire  aueun 
reniede  pour  se  garantir  de  la  mort,  pleuroit  a  chaudes  larnies,  et  s'ef- 
ibrfoit  de  la  toucher  par  Ics  liens  du  sang,  ct  de  ramitie  qui  les  unis- 
soit  ensemble.  EUe  lui  disoit  sans  cesse,  'C'en  est  done  I'ait;  tu  veux 
(jue  nous  ne  nous  retrouvions  jamais  plus,  et  que  nons  ne  nous  rovoyions 
jamais  ?'  Le  missionnaire,  frappe  de  ces  paroles,  lui  en  demanda  la 
raison.  '  11  me  semblc,'  dit-il,  '  que  vous  avez  un  pays  des  ames,  ou 
vous  devez  tous  vous  reiinir  a  vos  ancetres ;  pounjuoi  done  est  ce  que 
tu  paries  ainsi  a  la  soeur?'  'II  est  vrai,'  repril-elle,  'que  nons  allons 
tous  au  pays  des  ames  ;  mais  les  meehants,  ct  eeux  en  particulier,  qui 
se  sont  detruits  eux-memes  par  un  mort  violente,  y  portent  la  peine  de 
leur  erime  ;  ils  y  sont  separes  des  autres,  et  n'ont  point  de  communica- 
tion aveo  eux :  c'est  la  le  .sujet  de  mes  peines."  '' — Lafitau,  torn,  i., 
p.  404.     Sec  Appendix,  Lll. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  191 

of  eternal  happiness  and  peace  by  the  hand  of  the  Great 
Spirit ;  but  if  his  hfe  be  stained  with  cowardice,  vice,  or 
neghgence  of  duty,  he  is  abandoned  to  the  malignity  of  evil 
genii,  driven  about  by  storms  and  darkness  over  that  un- 
known sea,  and  at  length  cast  ashore  on  the  barren  land, 
where  everlasting  torments  are  his  portion.* 

The  Indians  generally  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  Spirit 
of  Evil,  and  occasionally  pray  to  hira  in  deprecation  of  his 
wrath.  They  do  not  doubt  his  inferiority  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  but  they  believe  that  he  has  the  power  to  inflict 
torments  and  punishments  upon  the  human  race,  and  that 
he  has  a  malignant  delight  in  its  exei'cise. 

The  souls  of  the  lower  animals  are  also  held  by  the  Red 
Man  to  be  immortal :  he  recognizes  a  certain  portion  of 
understanding  iu  them,  and  each  creature  is  supposed  to 
possess  a  guardian  spirit  peculiar  to  itself  He  only  claims 
a  superiority  in  degree  of  intelligence  and  power  over  the 
beasts  of  the  field.  Man  is  but  the  king  of  animals.  In 
the  world  of  souls  are  to  be  found  the  shades  of  every  thing 

*  Hunter  gives  the  following  view  of  the  Indian  mythology,  while 
describing  his  own  and  his  companions'  first  sight  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  : 
"Here  the  surprise  and  astonishment  of  our  whole  party  was  inde- 
scribably great.  The  unbounded  view  of  waters,  the  incessant  and 
tremendous  dashing  of  the  waves  along  the  shore,  accompanied  with 
a  noise  resembling  the  roar  of  loud  and  distant  thunder,  filled  our  minds 
with  the  most  sublime  and  awful  sensation,  and  fixed  on  them  as  im- 
mutable truths  the  tradition  we  had  received  from  our  old  men,  that 
the  great  waters  divide  the  residence  of  the  Great  Spirit  from  tho 
temporary  abodes  of  his  red  children.  We  have  contemplated  in  silent 
dread  the  immense  difficulties  over  which  we  should  be  obliged  to 
triumph  after  death  before  we  could  arrive  at  those  delightful  hunting- 
grounds,  which  are  unalterably  destined  for  such  only  as  do  good,  and 
love  the  Gi'eat  Spirit.  We  looked  in  vain  for  the  stranded  and  shat- 
tered canoes  of  those  who  had  done  wickedly ;  we  could  see  none,  and 
were  led  to  hope  they  were  few  in  number.  We  oflTered  up  our  devo- 
tions, or,  I  might  say,  our  minds  were  serious,  and  our  devotions  con- 
tinued all  the  time  we  were  in  this  country,  for  we  had  ever  been 
taught  to  believe  that  the  Great  Spirit  resided  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  and  this  idea  continued  throughout  the  journey, 
notwithstanding  the  more  specific  boundary  assigned  to  Him  by  our 
traditionary  dogmas." — Memoirs  of  a  Captivity  among  the  North  Amer- 
ican Indians  from  Childhood  to  the  Age  of  Nineteen.  By  John  D. 
Hunter,  p.  69.      1824.— Sec  Appendix,  No.  LHI. 


192  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

that  breathes  the  breath  of  life.  However,  he  takes  littlo 
pains  to  arrange  or  develop  these  strange  ideas.  The  en- 
lightened heathen  philosophers  of  antiquity  were  not  moro 
successful. 

To  penetrate  the  mysteries  of  the  future  has  always  been 
a  favorite  object  of  superstition,*  and  has  been  attempted  by 
a  countless  variety  of  means.  The  Indian  trusts  to  hia 
dreams  for  this  revelation,  and  invariably  holds  them  sacred. 
Before  he  engages  in  any  important  undertaking,  particularly 
in  war,  diplomacy,  or  the  chase,  the  dreams  of  his  principal 
chiefs  are  carefully  watched  and  examined  ;  by  their  inter- 
pretation his  conduct  is  guided.  In  this  manner  the  fate  of 
a  whole  nation  has  often  been  decided  by  the  chance  visions 
of  a  single  man.  The  Indian  considers  that  dreams  are  the 
mode  by  which  the  Great  Spirit  condescends  to  hold  converse 
with  man  ;  thence  arises  his  deep  veneration  for  the  omens 
and  warnings  they  may  shadow  forth. f 

Many  other  superstitions,  besides  those  of  prognostics  from 
dreams,  are  cherished  among  the  Indians.  Each  remarkable 
natural  feature,  such  as  a  great  cataract,  a  lake,  or  a  difficult 
and  dangerous  pass,  possesses  a  spirit  of  the  spot,  whose  favor 
they  are  fain  to  propitiate  by  votive  offerings  :  skins,  bones, 
pieces  of  metal,  and  dead  dogs  are  hung  up  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  dedicated  to  its  honor.  Supposed  visions  of  ghosts 
are  sometimes,  but  rarely,  spoken  of:  it  is,  however,  gener- 
ally believed  that  the  souls  of  the  dead  continue  for  some 
time  to  hover  round  the  earthly  remains  :  dreading,  there- 
fore, that  the  spirits  of  those  they  have  tortured  watch  near 
them  to  seek  opportunity  of  vengeance,  they  beat  the  air 
violently  with  rods,  and  raise  frightful  cries  to  scare  the 
shadowy  enemy  away. 

Among  some  of  the  Indian  tribes,  an  old  man  performed 
the  duty  of  a  priest  at  their  religious  festivals  ;  he  broke  the 
bread  and  cast  it  in  the  fire,  dedicated  the  different  offerings, 
and  officiated  in  the  sacrifice.  It  was  also  his  calling  to 
declare  the  omens  from  dreams  and  other  signs,  as  the  warn- 
ings of  Heaven.  These  religious  duties  of  the  priest  were 
totally  distinct  from  the  office  of  the  juggler,  or  "  medicine- 

*    Si-o  Apiwixlix    Nn.  MV  t   Sop  Appoii.li.x,  N<.    ?,V. 


THE  CONUUKST  OF  CANADA.  193 

man,"  although  some  observers  have  confounded  them  to- 
gether. There  were  also  vestals  in  many  nations  of  the 
continent  who  were  supposed  to  supply  by  their  touch  a 
precious  medicinal  efficacy  to  certain  roots  and  simples. 

The  "  medicine-men,"  or  jugglers,  undertook  the  cure  of 
diseases,  the  interpretation  of  omens,  the  exorcising  of  evil 
spirits,  and  magic  in  all  its  branches.  They  were  men  of 
great  consideration  in  the  tribe,  and  were  called  in  and 
regularly  paid  as  physicians  ;  but  this  position  could  only  be 
attained  by  undergoing  certain  ordeals,  which  were  looked 
upon  as  a  compact  with  the  spirits  of  the  air.  The  process 
oi"  the  vajjor  bath  was  first  endui-ed  ;  severe  fasting  followed, 
accom^panied  by  constant  shouting,  singing,  beating  a  sort  of 
drum,  and  smoking.  After  these  preliminaries  the  jugglers 
were  installed  by  extravagant  ceremonies,  performed  with 
furious  excitement  and  agitation.  They  possessed,  doubtless, 
some  real  knowledge  of  the  healing  art ;  and  in  external 
woimds  or  injuries,  the  causes  of  which  are  obvious,  they 
applied  ]X)Averlul  simples,  chiefly  vegetable,  with  considerable 
skill.  With  decoctions  from  ginseng,  sassafras,  hedisaron,  and 
a  tall  shrub  called  bellis,  they  have  been  known  to  perform 
remarkable  cures  in  cases  of  wounds  and  ulcers.  They 
scarified  the  seat  of  inflammation  or  rheumatic  pain  skillfully 
with  sharp-pointed  bones,  and  accomplished  the  cupping 
process  by  the  use  of  gourd  shells  as  substitutes  for  glasses. 
For  all  internal  complaints,  their  favorite  specific  was  the 
vapor  bath,  which  they  formed  with  much  ingenuity  from 
their  rude  materials.  This  was  doubtless  a  very  eflicient 
remedy,  but  they  attached  to  it  a  supernatural  influence,  and 
employed  it  in  the  ceremonies  of  solemn  preparation  for  great 
councils. 

All  cases  of  disease,  when  the  cause  could  not  be  discov- 
ered, were  attributed  to  the  influence  of  malignant  spirits. 
To  meet  these,  the  medicine-man,  or  juggler,  invested  him- 
self with  his  mysterious  character,  and  endeavored  to  exorcise 
the  demon  by  a  great  variety  of  ceremonies,  a  mixture  of 
delusion  and  imposture.  For  this  purpose,  he  arrayed  him- 
self in  a  strange  and  fanciful  dresf?,  and  on  his  first  arrival 
began  to  sing  and  dance   uund   the  sufferer,  invoking  the 

VOL.   I. 1 


194  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

spirits  with  loud  cries.  When  exhausted  with  these  exer- 
tions, he  attributed  the  hidden  cause  of  the  malady  to  the 
first  unusual  idea  that  suggested  itself  to  his  mind,  and  in 
the  confidence  of  his  supposed  inspiration,  proclaimed  the 
necessary  cure.  The  juggler  usually  contrived  to  avoid  the 
responsibility  of  failure  by  ordering  a  remedy  impossible  of 
attainment  when  the  patient  was  not  likely  to  recover. 
The  Iroquois  believed  that  every  ailment  was  a  desire  of 
the  soul,  and,  when  death  followed,  it  was  from  the  desire 
not  having  been  accomplished. 

Among  many  of  the  Indian  tribes,  the  barbarous  custom 
of  putting  to  death  those  who  were  thought  past  recovery, 
existed,  and  still  exists.  Others  abandoned  these  unfortu- 
nates to  perish  of  hunger  and  thirst,  or  under  the  jaws  of 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest.  Sorne  nations  put  to  death  all 
infants  who  had  lost  their  mother,  or  buried  them  alive  in 
her  grave,  under  the  impression  that  no  other  woman  could 
rear  them,  and  that  they  must  j)crish  by  hunger.  But  the 
dreadful  custom  of  deserting  the  aged  and  emaciated  among 
the  wandering  tribes  is  universal.*  When  these  miserable 
creatures  become  incapable  of  walking  or  riding,  and  there 
is  no  means  of  carrying  them,  they  themselves  uniformly  in- 
si.st  upon  being  abandoned  to  their  fate,  saying  that  they  are 
old  and  of  no  lurther  use — they  left  their  fathers  in  the 
same  manner — they  wish  to  die,  and  their  children  must  not 
mourn  for  them.  A  small  fire  and  a  few  pieces  of  wood,  a 
scanty  supply  of  meat,  and  perhaps  a  bufiklo  skin,  arc  left 
as  the  old  man's  sole  resources.  When  in  a  few  months 
the  wandering  tribe  may  revisit  the  spot  where  he  was  de- 
serted, a  skull  and  a  few  scattered  bones  will  be  all  that 
the  wolves  and  vultures  have  left  as  tokens  of  his  dreadful 
fate. 

The  Indian  father  and  mother  display  great  tenderness 
for  their  children,!  even  to  the  weakness  of  unlimited  indul- 

*  See  Appendix,  Xo.  LVI. 

t  ■'  While  I  remained  among  the  Indians,  a  couple,  whose  tent  was 
adjacent  to  mine,  lest  a  son  of  four  years  of  age.  The  parents  were 
fo  much  affected  at  the  death  of  their  child,  that  they  observed  the 
usual  testimonies  of  grief  with  such  extreme  rigor  as  through  the 


THE    COXUUIiST    OF    CANADA.  195 

gencc  ;  this  aflection,  however,  appears  to  be  merely  instinctive, 
for  they  use  no  exertion  whatever  to  lead  their  oflsprini^  to 
the  paths  of  virtue.  Children,  on  their  part,  show  very  little 
filial  aflection,  and  frequently  treat  their  parents,  especially 
their  father,  with  indignity  and  violence.  This  vicious  char- 
acteristic is  strongly  exemplified  in  the  horrible  custom  above 
described. 

When  the  Indian  believes  that  his  death  is  at  hand,  his 
conduct  is  usually  stoical  and  dignified.  If  he  still  retain 
the  power  of  speech,  he  harangues  those  who  surround  hirn 
ill  a  funeral  oration,  advising  and  encouraging  his  children, 
and  bidding  them  and  all  his  friends  farewell.  During  this 
time,  the  relations  of  the  dying  man  slay  all  the  dogs  they 
can  catch,  trusting  that  the  souls  of  these  animals  will  give 
notice  of  the  approaching  departure  of  the  warrior  for  the 
world  of  spirits  ;  they  then  take  leave  of  him,  wish  him  a 
happy  voyage,  and  cheer  him  with  the  hope  that  his  children 
will  prove  worthy  of  his  name.  When  the  last  moment 
arrives,  all  the  kindred  break  into  loud  lamentations,  till 
some  one  high  in  consideration  desires  them  to  cease.  For 
weeks  afterward,  however,  these  cries  of  grief  are  daily  re- 
newed at  sunrise  and  sunset.  In  three  days  after  death  the 
funeral  takes  place,  and  the  neighbors  are  invited  to  a  feast 
of  all  the  provisions  that  can  be  procured,  which  must  be  all 
consumed.  The  relations  of  the  deceased  do  not  join  in  the 
banquet  ;   they  cut  off  their  hair,  cover  their  heads,  blacken 

weight  of  sorrow  and  loss  of  blood  to  occasion  the  loss  of  the  father. 
The  woman,  who  had  hitherto  been  inconsolable,  no  sooner  saw  her 
husband  expire  than  she  dried  up  her  tears,  and  appeared  cheerful 
and  resigned.  I  took  an  opportunity  of  asking  her  the  reason  of  so 
extraordinary  a  transition,  when  she  informed  me  that  her  child  was 
so  young  it  would  have  been  unable  to  support  itself  in  the  world  of 
spirits,  and  both  she  and  her  husband  were  apprehensive  that  its  sit- 
uation would  be  far  from  happy.  No  sooner,  however,  did  she  behold 
her  husband  depart  for  the  same  place,  who  not  only  loved  the  child 
with  the  tenderest  affection,  but  was  a  good  hunter,  and  would  be  able 
to  provide  plentifully  for  its  support,  than  she  ceased  to  mourn.  She 
said  she  had  now  no  reason  to  continue  her  tears,  as  the  child  on  whom 
she  doted  was  under  the  care  and  protection  of  a  fond  father,  and  she 
had  now  only  one  wish  remaining  ungratified,  that  of  herself  being 
with  them." — Carver. 


196  THE    COiN'QUEST    OF    CANADA. 

their  faces,  and  for  a  long  time  deny  themselves  every  amuse- 
ment.* 

The  deceased  is  buried  with  his  arms  and  ornaments,  and 
a  supply  of  provisions  for  his  long  journey  ;  the  face  is  painted, 
and  the  body  arrayed  in  the  richest  robes  that  can  be  ob- 
tained ;  it  is  then  laid  in  the  grave  in  an  upright  posture, 
and  skins  are  carefully  placed  around,  that  it  may  not  touch 
the  earth.  At  stated  intervals  of  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  years, 
the  Indians  celebrate  the  singular  ceremony  of  the  Festival 
of  the  Dead  ;  till  this  has  been  performed,  the  souls  of  the 
deceased  are  supposed  still  to  hover  round  their  earthly  re- 
mains. At  this  solemn  festival,  the  people  march  in  pro- 
cession to  the  burial-ground,  open  the  tombs,  and  continue 
for  a  time  gazing  on  the  moldering  relics  in  mournful  silence. 
Then,  while  the  women  raise  a  loud  M'ailing,  the  bones  of 
the  dead  are  carefully  collected,  wrajiped  in  fresh  and  val- 
uable robes,  and  conveyed  to  the  family  cabin. t  A  feast  is 
then  held  for  several  days,  with  dances,  games,  and  prize 
combats.  The  relics  are  next  carried  to  the  council-house 
of  the  nation,  where  they  are  publicly  displayed,  with  the 

*  Captain  Franklin  says  of  the  Chippewyans,  "  No  article  is  spared 
by  these  unhappy  men  when  a  near  relative  dies ;  their  clothes  and 
tents  are  cut  to  pieces,  their  guns  broken,  and  every  other  weapon 
rendered  useless  it  some  person  do  not  remove  these  articles  from  their 
sight." 

"  When  the  French  missionaries  asked  the  Indians  why  they  de- 
prived themselves  of  their  most  necessary  articles  in  favor  of  the  dead, 
they  answered,  '  that  it  was  not  only  to  evidence  their  love  for  their 
departed  relatives,  but  that  they  might  avoid  the  sight  of  objects 
which,  having  been  used  by  them,  would  continually  renew  their  grief.' 
The  .same  delicacy  of  feeling,  so  inconsistent  wntla  the  coarseness  of 
(he  Red  JMan's  nature,  was  manifested  in  their  custom  of  never  utter- 
ing the  names  of  the  dead ;  and  if  these  names  were  borne  b\'  any  of 
the  other  members  of  the  I'amily,  they  laid  them  aside  during  the  whole 
of  their  mourning.  And  it  was  esteemed  the  greatest  insult  that  could 
be  oflercd  to  say  to  any  one,  '  Your  father  is  dead,  your  mother  is 
dead.'  " — Charlevoix,  torn,  vi.,  p.  109. 

t  Pcre  Brt'beuf,  Rvlation  de  la  Nouvelle  France;  Charlevoix; 
Lafitau.     Catlin  dcscrilics  the  same  ceremonies. 

It  has  been  often  said  that  the  care  taken  by  the  Indians  for  the 
deceased  corpses  of  their  ancestors  w'as  in  consequence  of  a  universally 
received  tradition  that  these  corpses  were  to  rise  again  to  immortal 
life. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  197 

presents  destined  to  be  interred  with  them.  Sometimes  the 
remains  are  even  carried  on  bearers  from  village  to  village. 
At  length  they  are  laid  in  a  deep  pit,  lined  with  rich  furs  ; 
tears  and  lamentations  are  again  renewed,  and  for  some  time 
fresh  provisions  are  daily  laid,  by  this  simple  people,  upon 
the  graves  of  their  departed  friends. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


In  the  warmer  and  milder  climates  of  America,  none  of 
the  rude  tribes  were  clothed  ;  for  them  there  was  little  need 
of  defense  against  the  weather,  and  their  extreme  indolence 
indisposed  them  to  any  exertion  not  absolutely  necessary  for 
their  subsistence.  Others  were  satisfied  with  a  very  slight 
covering,  but  all  delighted  in  ornaments.  They  dressed 
their  hair  in  different  forms,  stained  their  skins,  and  fastened 
bits  of  gold,  or  shells,  or  bright  pebbles  in  their  noses  and 
cheeks.  They  also  frequently  endeavored  to  alter  their 
natural  form  and  feature  ;  as  soon  as  an  infant  was  born, 
it  was  subjected  to  some  cruel  process  of  compression,  by 
which  the  bones  of  the  skull  while  still  soft,  were  squeezed 
into  the  shape  of  a  cone,  or  flattened,  or  otherwise  distorted.* 

*  "  The  custom  of  squeezing  and  flattening  the  head  is  still  strictly 
adhei-ed  to  among  the  Chinooks.  The  people  bearing  the  name  of 
Flat  Heads  are  very  numerous,  but  very  few  among  them  actually 
practice  the  custom.  Among  the  Chinooks  it  is  almost  universal. 
The  process  is  thus  effected  :  The  child  is  placed  on  a  thick  plank, 
to  which  it  is  lashed  with  thongs  to  a  position  from  which  it  can  not 
escape,  and  the  back  of  the  head  supported  by  a  sort  of  pillow  made 
of  moss  or  rabbit-skins,  with  an  inclined  piece  resting  on  the  forehead 
of  the  child.  This  is  every  day  drawn  down  a  little  tighter  by  means 
of  a  cord,  which  holds  it  in  its  place,  until  at  length  it  touches  the 
nose,  thus  foi-ming  a  straight  line  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the 
end  of  the  nose.  This  process  is  seemingly  a  cruel  one,  though  I 
doubt  whether  it  causes  much  pain,  as  it  is  done  in  earliest  infancy, 
while  the  bones  are  .soft  and  cartilaginous,  and  easily  pressed  into 
this  distorted  shape  by  forcing  the  occipital  up  and  the  frontal  down, 
so  that  the  skull  at  the  top  in  profile  will  show  a  breadth  of  not  more 


198  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

But  ifi  all  efforts  to  adorn  or  alter  their  persons,  the  great 
object  "was  to  inspire  terror  and  respect.      The  warrior  was 

than  an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches,  when  in  a  front  view  it  exhibits 
a  great  expansion  on  the  sides,  making  it  at  the  top  nearly  the  width 
of  one  and  a  half  natural  heads.  By  this  remarkable  operation  the 
brain  is  singularly  changed  from  its  natural  state,  but  in  all  probability 
not  in  the  least  diminished  or  injured  in  its  natural  functions.  This  be- 
lief is  drawn  from  the  testimony  of  many  credible  witnesses  who  have 
closely  scrutinized  them,  and  ascertained  that  those  who  have  the  head 
flattened  are  in  no  way  inferior  in  intellectual  powers  to  those  whose 
heads  are  in  their  natural  shapes.  This  strange  custom  existed  pre- 
cisely the  same  until  recently  among  the  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws, 
who  occupied  a  large  part  of  the  states  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama, 
where  they  have  laid  their  bones,  and  hundreds  of  their  skulls  have 
been  procured,  bearing  marks  of  a  similar  treatment,  with  similar 
results."' — Catlin's  American  Indians,  vol.  ii.,  p.  112. 

With  respect  to  the  origin  of  this  singular  custom,  Humboldt  is 
inclined  to  think  that  it  may  be  traced  from  the  natural  inclination  of 
each  race  to  look  upon  their  own  personal  peculiarities  as  the  standard 
of  beauty.  He  observes  that  the  pointed  form  of  the  heads  is  very 
striking  in  the  Mexican  drawings,  and  continues  thus :  "  If  we  examine 
osteologically  the  skulls  of  the  natives  of  America,  we  see  that  there 
is  no  race  on  the  globe  in  which  the  frontal  bone  is  more  flattened  or 
which  have  less  forehead.^  (Blumenbach,  Decas  Quinta  Craniorum, 
tab.  xlvi.,  p.  14,  1808.)  This  extraordinary  flattening  exists  among 
people  of  the  copper-colored  race,  who  have  never  been  acquainted 
with  the  custom  of  producing  artificial  deformities,  as  is  proved  by  the 
.skulls  of  ISIcxican,  Peruvian,  and  Aztec  Indians,  which  M.  Bonpland 
and  myself  brought  to  Europe,  and  several  of  which  are  deposited  in 
the  ^luseum  of  Natural  Hi.story  at  Paris.  The  negroes  prefer  the 
thickest  and  most  prominent  lips,  the  Calmucks  perceive  the  line  of 
beauty  in  turned-up  noses.  IM.  Cuvier  observes  {Lcrons  iV Analomie 
Coiuparec,  torn,  ii.,  p.  G)  that  the  Grecian  artists,  in  the  statues  of 
heroes,  raised  the  facial  line  from  85°  to  100°,  or  beyond  the  natural 
form.  I  am  led  to  tliink  that  the  barbarous  custom,  among  certain 
.savage  tribes  in  America,  of  squeezing  the  heads  of  children  between 
two  planks,  arises  from  the  idea  that  beauty  consists  in  this  extra- 
ordinary compression  of  the  bone  by  which  Nature  has  characterized 
the  American  race.  It  is  no  doubt  from  following  this  standard  of 
beauty  that  even  the  Aztec  people,  who  never  disfigured  the  heads 
of  their  children,  have  represented  their  heroes  and  principal  divini- 
ties with  heads  much  flatter  than  any  of  the  Caribs  I  saw  on  the 
Lower  Orinoco." — Humboldt's  Researches  on  lite  Ancient  Inhabitants 
of  America. 

'  "  L'anatominc  comparie  en  otTre  une  autre  confirtnalion  dans  la  proportion  con- 
Btante  du  volume  dei  lobcK  c6r<jlirales  avcc  le  degr6  d'intelligcnce  des  aniinaux."— 
Cuvier'i  Report  to  the  Institute  on  Ftourcn's  Experiments  in  18~2. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  199 

indifferent  to  the  admiration  of  woman,  whom  he  enslaved 
and  despised,  and  it  was  only  for  war  or  the  council  that 
he  assumed  his  choicest  ornaments,  and  painted  himself 
with  unusual  care.  The  decorations  of  the  women  were 
few  and  simple  ;  all  those  that  were  precious  and  splendid 
were  reserved  for  their  haughty  lords.  In  several  tribes, 
the  wives  had  to  devote  much  of  their  time  to  adornino- 
their  husbands,  and  could  bestow  little  attention  upon  them- 
selves. The  difierent  nations  remaining  unclothed  show 
considerable  sagacity  in  anointing  themselves  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  provide  against  the  heat  and  moisture  of  the 
climate.  Soot,  the  juices  of  herbs  having  a  green,  yellow, 
or  vermilion  tint,  mixed  with  oil  and  grease,  are  lavishly 
employed  upon  their  skin  to  adorn  it  and  render  it  impervi- 
ous. By  this  practice  profuse  perspiration  is  checked,  and 
a  defense  is  afforded  against  the  innumerable  and  tormenting 
insects  that  abound  every  where  in  America.*      Black  and 

*  "  Ces  huiles  leur  sont  absolument  nccessaires,  et  ils  sont  manges 
de  vermine  quand  dies  leur  raanquent." — Lafttan,  torn,  i.,  p.  59. 

It  is  supposed  by  Volney  that  the  fatal  effects  of  the  small-pox 
among  the  Indians  are  to  be  attributed  to  the  obstacle  that  a  skin  thus 
hardened  opposes  to  the  eruption. — P.  416.  In  the  most  detailed 
account  given  of  the  ravages  of  this  disease,  Catlin  particularly  men- 
tions that  no  eruption  was  visible  in  any  of  the  bodies  of  the  dead. 
Forster,  the  English  ti'anslator  of  Professor  Kalm's  Travels  in  America, 
held  the  same  opinion  as  Volney. 

"  When  the  Kalmucks  in  the  Russian  dominions  get  the  sraall-pox, 
it  has  been  observed  that  very  few  escape.  Of  this,  I  believe,  no 
other  reason  can  be  alleged  than  that  the  small-pox  is  always  dan- 
gerous, either  when  the  ojjen  pores  of  the  skin  are  too  numerous, 
which  is  caused  by  opening  them  in  a  warm-water  bath,  or  wlien 
they  are  too  much  closed,  which  is  the  case  with  all  the  nations  that 
are  dirty  and  greasy.  All  the  American  Indians  rub  their  body  with 
oils ;  the  Kalmucks  rub  their  bodies  and  their  fur  coats  with  grease ; 
the  Hottentots  are  also,  I  believe,  patterns  of  filthiness  :  this  shuts  up 
all  the  pores,  hinders  perspiration  entirely,  and  makes  the  small-pox 
always  fatal  among  these  nations." — Note  by  the  translator  of  Kalm, 
p.  532. 

"The  ravages  which  the  small-pox  made  this  year  (1750)  among 
their  Mohawk  friends  was  a  source  of  deep  concern  to  these  revered 
philanthropists.  These  people  having  been  accustomed  from  early 
childhood  to  anoint  themselves  with  bear's  grease,  to  repel  the  in- 
numerable tribes  of  noxious  insects  in  summer,  and  to  exclude  the 


200  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

red  are  the  favorite  colors  for  painting  the  face.  la  Avar, 
black  is  profusely  laid  on,  the  other  colors  being  only  used 
to  heighten  its  eflect,  and  give  a  terrible  expression  to  the 
countenance.*  The  breast,  arms,  and  legs  of  the  Indian 
are  tattooed  with  sharp  needles  or  pointed  bones,  the  coloi-s 
being  carefully  rubbed  in.  His  Manitou,  and  the  animal 
chosen  as  the  symbol  of  liis  tribe,  are  first  painted,  then  all 
his  most  remarkable  exploits,  and  the  enemies  he  has  slain 
or  scalped,  so  that  his  body  displays  a  pictorial  history  of 
his  life.f 

In  the  severe  climate  of  the  north  the  Indian's  dress  is 
somew^hat  more  ample.  Instead  of  shoes  he  wears  a  strip 
of  soft  leather  wrapped  round  the  foot,  called  the  moccasin. 
Upward  to  the  middle  of  the  thigh,  a  piece  of  leather  or 
cloth,  fitting  closely,  serves  instead  of  pantaloons  and  stock- 
ings :  it  is  usually  sewed  on  to  the  limb,  and  is  never  removed. 
Two  aprons,  each  about  a  foot  square,  are  fastened  to  a  gir- 
dle round  the  waist,  and  hang  before  and  behind.  This  is 
their  permanent  dress.  On  occasions  of  ceremony,  however, 
and  in  cold  weather,  they  also  wear  a  short  shirt,  and  over  all 
a  loose  robe,  closed  or  held  together  in  front.  Now,  an  En- 
glish blanket  is  generally  used  for  this  garment  ;  but,  before 
the  produce  of  European  art  was  known  among  them,  the 
skins  of  wild  animals   furnished   all   their  covering.      The 

extreme  cold  in  winter,  their  pores  are  so  completely  shut  up  that 
the  small-pox  does  not  rise  upon  them,  nor  have  they  much  chance  of 
recovery  from  any  acute  disorder."' — Memoirs  of  an  American  Lady, 
vol.  i.,  p.  322. 

*  INI.  de  Tracy,  when  governor  of  Canada,  was  told  by  his  Indian 
allies  that,  with  his  good-humored  face,  he  would  never  inspire  the 
enemy  with  any  degree  of  awe.  They  besought  him  to  place  himself 
under  their  brush,  when  they  would  soon  make  him  such  that  his 
very  aspect  would  strike  terror. — Creuxius,  Nova  Francia,  p.  62  ; 
Charlevoix,  torn,  vi.,  p.  40. 

t  St.  Isidore  of  Seville,  and  Solinus,  give  a  similar  description  of  tho 
manner  of  painting  the  body  in  use  among  the  Picts.  "  The  operator 
delineates  the  figures  with  little  points  made  by  the  prick  of  a  needle, 
and  into  these  he  insinuates  the  juice  of  some  native  jilants,  that  their 
nobility,  thus  VvTitten,  as  it  were,  ujion  every  limb  of  their  body^ 
miglit  distinguish  them  from  ordinary  men  l^y  the  number  of  the 
ligurcs  they  were  decorated  with." — Isidor.,  Origin.,  lib.  xix.,  cap. 
3udii.  J  Solin.,  Dc  Magna  Britannia,  cap.  xxv. 


THE    CONaUEST    OF    CANADA.'  201 

chiefs  usually  wear  a  sort  of  breast-plate,  covered  with 
shells,  pebbles,  and  pieces  of  glittering  metal.  Those  Avho 
communicate  with  Europeans  display  beads,  rings,  bracelets, 
and  other  gauds  instead.  The  ear,  too,  is  cumbrously  orna- 
mented with  showy  pendents,  and  the  tuft  of  hair  on  the 
crown  of  the  head  is  interwoven  with  feathers,  the  wings  of 
birds,  shells,  and  many  fantastic  ornaments.  Sometimes 
the  Indian  warrior  wears  bufialo  horns,*  reduced  in  size 
and  polished,  on  his  head  :  this,  however,  is  a  distinction 
only  ibr  those  renowned  in  war  or  in  the  council.  The  dress 
of  the  women  varies  but  little  from  that  of  the  men,  except 
in  being  more  simple.  They  wear  their  hair  long  and  flow- 
ing, and  richly  ornamented,  whenever  they  can  procure  the 
means. 

*  "  These  horns  are  made  of  about  a  third  part  of  the  horn  of  a 
buffalo  bull,  the  horn  having  been  split  from  end  to  end,  and  a  third 
part  of  it  taken,  and  shaved  thin  and  light,  and  highly  polished. 
They  are  attached  to  the  top  or  the  head-dress  on  each  side,  in  the 
same  place  as  they  rise  and  stand  on  the  head  of  a  buffalo,  rising  out 
of  a  mat  of  ermine  skins  and  tails,  v^hich  hangs  over  the  top  of  the 
head-dress  somewhat  in  the  form  that  the  large  and  profuse  locks  of 
hair  hang  and  fall  over  the  head  of  a  buffalo  bull.  This  custom  is 
one  which  belongs  to  all  northeastern  tribes,  and  is  no  doubt  of  very 
ancient  origin,  having  purely  a  classic  meaning.  No  one  wears  the 
head-dress  surmounted  with  horns  except  the  dignitaries  who  are  very 
high  in  authority,  and  whose  exceeding  valor,  worth,  and  power  is 
admitted  by  all  the  nation.  This  head-dress  is  used  only  on  certain 
occasions,  and  they  are  very  seldom :  when  foreign  chiefs,  Indian  agents, 
or  other  important  personages  visit  a  tribe,  or  at  war  parades.  Some- 
times, when  a  chief  sees  fit  to  send  a  wa-r  party  to  battle,  he  decorates 
his  head  with  this  symbol  of  power,  to  stimulate  his  men,  and  throws 
himself  into  the  foremost  of  the  battle,  inviting  the  enemy  to  concen- 
trate his  shafts  upon  them.  The  horns  upon  these  head-dresses  are 
but  loosely  attached  at  the  bottom,  so  that  they  easily  fall  backward 
or  forward  ;  and  by  an  ingenious  motion  of  the  head,  which  is  so  slight 
as  to  be  almost  imperceptible,  they  are  made  to  balance  to  and  fro,  and 
sometimes  one  backward  and  the  other  forward  like  a  horse's  cars, 
giving  a  vast  deal  of  expression  and  force  of  character  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  chief  who  is  wearing  them.  This  is  a  remarkable  in- 
stance, like  hundreds  of  others,  of  a  striking  similarity  to  Jewish  cus- 
toms, to  the  kerns  (or  kcrcn,  in  Hebrew),  the  horns  worn  by  the 
Abyssinian  chiefs  and  Hebrews  as  a  symbol  of  power  and  command 
— worn  at  great  parades  and  celebrations  of  victories." — Catlin,  vol. 
i.,  p.  104. 

1* 


202  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

The  dwellings  of  the  Indians  usually  receive  much  less 
attention  than  their  personal  appearance.  Even  among 
tribes  comparatively  far  advanced  in  civilization,  the  struc- 
ture of  their  houses  or  cabans  was  very  rude  and  simple. 
They  were  generally  wretched  huts,  of  an  oblong  or  circular 
form,  and  sometimes  so  low  that  it  was  always  necessary  to 
preserve  a  sitting  or  lying  posture  while  under  their  shelter. 
There  were  no  windows ;  a  large  hole  in  the  center  of  the 
roof  allowed  the  smoke  to  escape  ;  and  a  sort  of  curtain  of 
birch  bark  occupied  the  place  of  the  door.  These  dwellings 
are  sometimes  100  feet  long,  when  they  accommodate  sev- 
eral families.  Four  cabans  generally  foi-m  a  quadrangle, 
each  open  to  the  inside,  with  the  fire  in  the  center  common 
to  all.  The  numerous  and  powerful  tribes  formerly  inhabit- 
ing Canada  and  its  borders  usually  dwelt  in  huts  of  a  very 
rude  description.  In  their  expeditions,  both  for  war  and  the 
chase,  the  Indians  erect  temporary  cabans  in  a  remarkably 
short  space  of  time.  A  few  poles,  raised  in  the  shape  of  a 
cone,  and  covered  with  birch  bark,  form  the  roof,  and  the 
tops  of  pine  branches  make  a  fragrant  bed.  In  winter  the 
snow  is  cleared  out  of  the  place  where  the  caban  is  to  be 
raised,  and  shaped  into  walls,  w^hich  form  a  shelter  from  the 
wind.  The  permanent  dwellings  were  usually  grouped  in 
villages,  surrounded  with  double  and  even  triple  rows  of 
palisades,  interlaced  with  branches  of  trees,  so  as  to  form  a 
compact  barrier,  and  offering  a  considerable  difficulty  to  an 
assailing  foe. 

The  furniture  in  these  huts  was  very  scanty.  The  use 
of  metal  being  unknown,  the  pots  or  vessels  for  boiling  their 
food  were  made  of  coarse  earthen-ware,  or  of  soft  stone  hol- 
lowed out  with  a  hatchet.  In  some  cases  they  were  made 
of  wood,  and  the  water  was  boiled  by  throwing  in  a  number 
of  heated  stones. 

The  Indian  displays  some  skill  in  the  construction  of  ca- 
noes, and  they  are  admirably  adapted  for  his  purpose.  They 
are  usually  made  of  the  bark  of  a  single  tree,  strengthened 
by  ribs  of  strong  wood.  These  light  and  buoyant  skiffs  float 
safely  on  stormy  or  rapid  waters  under  the  practiced  guid- 
ance of  the  Indian,  and  can  with  ease  be  borne  on  his  shoul- 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  203 

der  from  one  river  or  lake  to  another.  Canoes  formed  out 
of  the  trunk  of  a  large  tree  are  also  sometimes  used,  especial- 
ly in  winter,  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  rivers  when  there  is 
floating  ice,  their  great  strength  rendering  them  capable  of 
enduring  the  coihsion  with  the  floating  masses,  to  which  they 
are  liable. 

Even  among  the  rudest  Indian  tribes  a  regular  union 
between  man  and  wife  was  universal,  although  not  attended 
with  ceremonials.  The  marriage  contract  is  a  matter  of 
purchase.  The  man  buys  his  wife  of  her  parents ;  not  with 
money,  for  its  value  is  unknown,  but  with  some  useful  and 
precious  article,  such  as  a  robe  of  bear  or  other  handsome 
skin,  a  horse,  a  rifle,  powder  and  shot.  When  the  Indian 
has  made  the  bargain  with  his  wife's  parents,  he  takes  her 
home  to  his  caban,  and  from  that  time  she  becomes  his  slave. 
There  are  several  singular  modes  of  courtship  among  some  of 
the  tribes,  but  generally  much  reserve  and  consideration  are 
exhibited.  *     In  many  respects,   however,   the  morals  and 

*  "  When  a  young  Indian  becomes  attached  to  a  female,  he  does 
not  frequent  the  lodge  of  her  parents,  or  visit  her  elsewhere,  oftener, 
perhaps,  than  he  would  provided  no  such  attachment  existed.  Were 
he  to  pursue  an  opposite  course  before  he  had  acquired  either  the  rep- 
utation of  a  warrior  or  a  hunter,  and  suffer  his  attachment  to  be  known 
or  suspected  by  any  pex'sonal  attention,  he  would  become  the  derision 
of  the  warriors  and  the  contempt  of  the  squaws.  On  meeting,  how- 
ever, she  is  the  first,  excepting  the  elderly  people,  who  engages  his 
respectful  and  kind  incjuiries ;  after  which,  no  conversation  passes  be- 
tween them,  except  it  be  with  the  language  of  the  eyes,  which,  even 
among  savages,  is  eloquent,  and  appears  to  be  V)'Cil  understood.  The 
next  indication  of  serious  intentions  on  the  part  of  the  young  hunter 
is  the  assumption  of  more  industrious  habits.  He  rises  by  daybreak, 
and,  with  his  gun  or  bow,  visits  the  woods  and  prairies,  in  search  of 
the  most  rare  and  esteemed  game.  He  endeavors  to  acquire  the 
character  of  an  expert  and  industrious  hunter,  and,  whenever  success 
has  crowned  his  efforts,  never  fails  to  send  the  parents  of  the  object 
of  his  affections  some  of  the  choicest  he  has  procured.  His  mother  is 
generally  the  bearer,  and  she  is  sure  to  tell  from  what  source  it  comes, 
and  to  dilate  largely  on  the  merits  and  excellences  of  her  son.  The 
girl,  on  her  part,  exercises  all  her  skill  in  preparing  it  for  food,  and 
when  it  is  cooked,  frequently  sends  some  of  the  most  delicious  pieces, 
accompanied  by  other  small  presents,  such  as  nuts,  moccasins,  &c.,  to 
her  lover.  These  negotiations  are  usually  carried  on  by  the  mothers 
of  the  respective  parties,  who  consider  them  confidential,  and  seldom 


Ji04  THE    COXaUEST    OF    CAX.VDA. 

manners  of  the  Indians  are  such  as  might  be  expected  in 
communities  where  the  precepts  of  Christianity  are  unknown, 
and  where  even  the  artificial  light  of  civilization  is  wanting. 
There  are  occasionally  instances  of  a  divorce  being  resorted 
to  from  mere  caprice  ;  but,  usually,  the  marriage  tie  is  re- 
garded as  a  perpetual  covenant.  As  the  wife  toils  incessant- 
ly, and  procures  a  great  part  of  the  subsistence,  she  is  con- 
sidered too  valuable  a  servant  to  be  lightly  lost.  Among 
the  chiefs  of  the  tribes  to  the  west  and  south,  polygamy  ia 
general,  and  the  number  of  these  wife-servants  constitute 
the  principal  wealth;  but  among  the  northern  nations  this 
plurality  is  very  rarely  possessed.  The  Indian  is  seldom 
seen  to  bestow  the  slightest  mark  of  tenderness  upon  his  wife 
or  children  :  he,  however,  exerts  himself  to  the  utmost  for 
their  welfare,  aird  will  sacrifice  his  life  to  avenge  their 
wrongs.  His  indomitable  pride  prompts  him  to  assume  an 
apparent  apathy,  and  to  control  every  emotion  of  affection, 
suffering,  or  sorrow. 

Parents  perform  few  duties  toward  their  children  beyond 
procuring  their  daily  bread.  The  father  is  by  turns  occu- 
pied in  war  and  the  chase,  or  sunk  in  total  indolence,  while 
the  mother  is  oppressed  by  the  toils  of  her  laborious  bondage, 
and  has  but  little  time  to  devote  to  her  maternal  cares. 
The  infant  is  fastened  to  a  board,  cushioned  with  soft  moss, 
by  thongs  of  leather,  and  is  generally  hung  on  the  branch  of 
a  tree,  or,  in  traveling,  carried  on  the  mother's  back.*    When 

divulge  even  to  the  remaining  parents,  except  one  or  both  of  the  can- 
didates .should  be  the  ollspring  ol"  a  chief,  when  a  deviation  from  this 
practice  is  exacted,  and  generally  observed.  After  an  Indian  has 
acquired  the  reputation  of  a  warrior,  expert  hunter,  or  swift  runner, 
he  has  little  need  of  minor  qualifications,  or  of  much  address  or  for- 
mality in  formintj  his  matrimonial  views.  The  young  squaws  some- 
times discover  their  attachment  to  those  they  love  by  .some  act  of  ten- 
der regard,  but  more  frequently  through  the  kind  ofliecs  of  some  con- 
fidante or  friend.  Such  overtures  generally  succeed  :  but  should  they 
fail,  it  is  by  no  means  considered  disgraceful,  or  in  the  least  disadvan- 
tageous to  the  female ;  on  the  contrary,  should  the  object  of  her  affec- 
tions have  distinguished  himself  especially  in  battle,  she  is  the  more 
esteemed  on  account  of  the  judgment  she  displayed  in  her  partiality 
for  a  respectable  and  brave  warrior."' — Hunter,  p.  235-237. 
*  See  Appendix,  No.  LVII. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  205 

able  to  move,  it  is  freed  from  this  confinement,  and  allowed 
to  make  its  way  about  as  it  pleases.  It  soon  reaches  some 
neighboring  lake  or  river,  and  sports  itself  in  the  water  all 
day  long.  As  the  child  advances  in  years  it  enjoys  perfect 
independence  ;  it  is  rarely  or  never  reproved  oj  chastised. 
The  youths  are  early  led  to  emulate  the  deeds  of  their 
fathers  ;  they  practice  with  the  bow,  and  other  weapons 
suited  to  a  warrior's  use  ;  and,  as  manhood  approaches,  they 
gradually  assume  the  dignified  gravity  of  the  elders.  In 
some  tribes  the  young  men  must  pass  through  a  dreadful 
ordeal  when  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  manhood,  which  is 
supposed  to  prepare  them  for  the  endurance  of  all  future 
suflerings,  and  enables  the  chiefs  to  judge  of  their  courage, 
and  to  select  the  bravest  among  them  to  lead  in  difficult 
enterprises. 

During  four  days  previous  to  this  terrible  torture  the 
candidates  observe  a  strict  fast,  and  are  denied  all  sleep. 
When  the  appointed  day  arrives,  certain  strange  ceremonies 
of  an  allegorical  description  are  performed,  in  which  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  village  take  part.  The  candidates  then 
repair  to  a  large  caban,  where  the  chiefs  and  elders  of  the 
tribe  are  assembled  to  witness  the  ordeal.  The  torture 
commences  by  driving  splints  of  wood  through  the  flesh  of 
the  back  and  breasts  of  the  victim  :  he  is  next  hoisted  oft^ 
the  ground  by  ropes  attached  to  these  splints,  and  suspended 
by  the  quivering  flesh,  while  the  tormentors  twist  the  hang- 
mg  body  slowly  round,  thus  exquisitely  enhancing  the  agony, 
till  a  death-faint  comes  to  the  relief  of  the  candidate  :  he  is 
then  lowered  to  the  ground  and  left  to  the  care  of  the  Great 
Spirit.  When  he  recovers  animation,  he  rises  and  proceeds 
ou  his  hands  and  feet  to  another  part  of  the  caban :  he  there 
lays  the  little  finger  of  the  left  hand  upon  a  buflalo  skidl,  as 
a  sacrifice  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  another  Indian  chops  it 
off.  The  fore-finger  is  also  frequently  offered  up  in  the 
same  manner  :  this  mutilation  does  not  interfere  with  the 
use  of  the  bow,  the  only  weapon  for  which  the  left  hand  is 
required.  Other  cruel  tortures  are  inflicted  for  some  time, 
and  at  length  the  wretched  victim,  reeling  and  staggering 
from  the  intensity  of  his  suffering,  reaches  his  own  dwelling, 


206  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

where  he  is  placed  uudei*  the  care  of  his  friends.  Some  of 
the  famous  warriors  of  the  tribe  pass  through  this  horrible 
ordeal  repeatedly,  and  the  oftener  it  is  endured,  the  greater 
is  their  estimation  among  their  people.  No  bandages  are 
applied  to  the  Avounds  thus  inflicted,  nor  is  aiiy  attention 
paid  to  their  cure  ;  but,  from  the  extreme  exhaustion  and 
debility  caused  by  want  of  sustenance  and  sleep,  circulation 
is  checked,  and  sensibility  diminished  ;  the  bleeding  and 
inflammation  are  very  slight,  and  the  results  are  seldom 
injurious. 

The  native  tribes  are  engaged  in  almost  perpetual  hostility 
against  each  other.  War  is  the  great  occupation  of  savage 
life,  the  measure  of  merit,  the  high  road  of  ambition,  and  the 
source  of  its  intensest  joy — revenge.*  In  war  the  Indian 
character  presents  the  darkest  aspect ;  the  finer  and  gentler 
qualities  are  vailed  or  dormant,  and  a  fiendish  ferocity  as- 
sumes full  sway.  It  is  waged  to  exterminate,  not  to  reduce. 
The  enemy  is  assailed  with  treachery,  and,  if  conquered, 
treated  with  revolting  cruelty.  The  glory  and  excitement 
of  war  are  dear  to  the  Indian,  but  when  the  first  drop  of 
blood  is  shed,  revenge  is  dearer  still.  He  thirsts  to  offer 
up  the  life  of  an  enemy  to  appease  the  departed  spirit  of  a 
slaughtered  friend.  Thus  each  contest  generates  another 
even  more  embittered  than  itself  The  extension  or  defense 
of  the  hunting-grounds  is  often  a  primary  cause  of  hostility 
among  the  native  nations,  and  the  increase  of  the  power  of 
their  tribe  by  incorporating  with  them  such  of  the  vanquished 
as  they  may  spare  from  a  cruel  death  is  another  frequent 
motive.  The  savage  pines  and  chafes  in  long-continued 
peace,  and  the  prudence  of  the  aged  can  with  difficulty 
restrain  the  fierce  impetuosity  of  the  young.  Individual 
quarrels  and  a  thirst  for  fame  often  lead  a  single  savage  to 
invade  a  hostile  territory  against  the  counsels  of  his  tribe  ; 

*  "  They  firmly  belie%-e  that  the  spirits  of  those  who  arc  ijilled  by 
the  enemy  without  cijual  revenge  of  blond,  find  no  rest,  and  at  night 
haunt  the  houses  of  the  tribe  to  which  they  belonged ;  but  when  that 
kindred  duty  of  retaliation  is  Justly  executed,  they  immediately  get 
ease  and  power  to  fly  away." — Adair's  Account  of  the  American  In- 
dians. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  207 

but,  when  war  is  determined  by  the  general  voice,  more 
enlarged  views,  and  a  desire  of  aggrandizement  guide  the 
proceedings. 

As  soon  as  the  determination  of  declaring  war  is  formed, 
he  who  is  chosen  by  the  nation  as  the  chief  enters  on  a 
course  of  solemn  preparation,  entreating  the  aid  and  guidance 
of  the  Great  Spirit.  As  a  signal  of  the  appi'oaching  strife, 
he  marches  three  times  round  his  winter  dwelling,  bearing 
a  large  blood-red  flag,  variegated  with  deep  tints  of  black. 
"When  this  terrible  emblem  is  seen,  the  young  warriors 
crowd  around  to  hearken  to  the  words  of  their  chief  He 
then  addresses  them  in  a  strain  of  impassioned,  but  rude 
and  ferocious  eloquence,  calling  upon  them  to  follow  him  to 
glory  and  revenge.  When  he  concludes  his  oration,  he 
throws  a  wampum  belt  on  the  ground,  which  is  respectfully 
lifted  up  by  some  warrior  of  high  renown,  who  is  judged 
worthy  of  being  second  in  command.  The  chief  now  paints 
himself  black,  and  commences  a  strict  fast,  only  tasting  a 
decoction  of  consecrated  herbs  to  assist  his  dreams,  which 
are  strictly  noted  and  interpreted  by  the  elders.  He  then 
washes  ofi^  the  black  paint.  A  huge  fire  is  lighted  in  a 
public  place  in  the  village,  and  the  great  war-caldron  set 
to  boil  :  each  warrior  throws  something  into  this  vessel,  and 
the  allies  who  are  to  join  the  expedition  also  send  ofleriiigs 
for  the  same  purpose.  Lastly,  the  sacred  dog  is  sacrificed 
to  the  God  of  War,  and  boiled  in  the  caldron  to  form  the 
chief  dish  at  a  festival,  to  which  only  the  warriors  and  men 
great  in  council  are  admitted. 

During  these  ceremonies  the  elders  watch  the  omens  with 
deep  anxiety,  and  if  the  promise  be  favorable,  they  prepare 
for  immediate  departure.  The  chief  then  paints  himself  in 
bright  and  varied  colors,  to  render  his  appearance  terrible, 
and  sings  his  war  song,  announcing  the  nature  of  the  pro- 
jected enterprise.  His  example  is  followed  by  all  the  war- 
riors, who  join  a  war-dance,  while  they  proclaim  with  a 
loud  voice  the  glory  of  their  former  deeds,  and  their  de- 
termination to  destroy  their  enemies.  Each  Indian  now 
seizes  his  arms  :  the  bow  and  quiver  hang  over  the  left 
shoulder,  the  tomahawk  from  the  left  hand,  and  the  scalp- 


208  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ing-knlfe*  is  stuck  in  the  girdle.  A  distinguished  chief  is 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  Manitous  or  guardian  powers 
of  each  warrior  ;  they  are  collected,  carefully  placed  in  a 
box,  and  accompany  the  expedition  as  the  ark  of  safety. 
Meanwhile  the  women  incite  the  warriors  to  vengeance, 
and  eagerly  demand  captives  for  the  torture,  to  appease  the 
spirits  of  their  slaughtered  relatives,  or  sometimes,  indeed, 
to  supply  their  place.  When  the  war  party  are  prepared  to 
start,  the  chief  addresses  his  followers  in  a  short  harangue  ; 
they  then  comiTience  the  march,  singing,  and  shouting  the 
terrible  war-whoop.  The  women  proceed  with  the  expe- 
dition for  some  distance  ;  and  when  they  must  return,  ex- 
change endearing  names  with  their  husbands  and  relations, 
and  express  ardent  wishes  for  victory.  Some  little  gift  of 
affection  is  usually  exchanged  at  parting. 

Before  striking  the  first  blow  the  Indians  make  open 
declaration  of  war.  A  herald,  painted  black,  is  sent,  bear- 
ing a  red  tomahawk,  on  one  side  of  which  are  inscribed 
figures  representing  the  causes  of  hostilities.  He  reaches  the 
enemy's  principal  village  at  midnight,  throws  down  the 
tomahawk  in  some  conspicuous  place,  and  disappears  silent- 
ly. When  once  warning  is  thus  given,  every  stratagem  that 
cunning  can  suggest  is  employed  for  the  enemy's  destruction. 

*  "  The  modern  scalping-knife  is  of  civilized  manufacture  made 
expressly  for  Indian  use,  and  carried  into  the  Indian  country  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  and  sold  at  an  enormous  price.  In 
the  native  simplicity  of  the  Indian,  he  shapes  out  his  rude  hatchet 
from  a  piece  of  stone,  heads  his  arrows  and  spears  with  flints,  and  his 
knife  is  a  sharpened  bone  or  the  edge  of  a  broken  silex.  His  un- 
tutored mind  has  not  been  ingenious  enough  to  design  or  execute  any 
thing  so  savage  or  destructive  as  these  civilized  refinements  on  Indian 
barbarity.  The  .scalping-knife,  in  a  beautiful  scabbard  which  is  car- 
ried under  the  belt,  is  generally  used  in  all  Indian  countries  where 
knives  have  been  introduced.  It  is  the  size  and  shape  of  a  butcher's 
knife  with  one  edge,  manufactured  at  Sheffield  perhaps  for  sixpence, 
and  sold  to  the  poor  Indians  in  these  wild  regions  for  a  horse.  If  I 
should  ever  cross  the  Atlantic,  with  my  collection,  a  curious  enigma 
would  be  solved  for  the  English  people  who  may  inquire  for  a  scalp- 
ing-knife, when  they  find  that  every  one  in  my  collection  (and  hear, 
also,  that  nearly  every  one  that  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Indian  country, 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  Ocean)  bears  on  its  blade, 
the  impress  of  G.  R."- — Catlin's  Jlmerican  Indians,  vol.  i.,  p.  236. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  209 

As  long  as  the  expedition  continues  in  friendly  countries, 
the  warriors  wander  about  in  small  parties  for  the  convenience 
of  hunting,  still,  however,  keeping  up  communication  by  means 
of  sounds  imitatii;.:g  the  cries  of  birds  and  beasts.  None  ever 
fail  to  appear  at  the  appointed  place  of  meeting  upon  the 
frontier,  where  they  again  hold  high  festival,  and  consult 
the  omens  of  their  dreams.  When  they  enter  the  hostile 
territory  a  close  array  is  observed,  and  a  deep  silence  reigns. 
They  creep  on  all  fours,  walk  through  water,  or  upon  the 
stumps  of  trees,  to  avoid  leaving  any  trace  of  their  route. 
To  conceal  their  numbers  they  sometimes  march  in  a  long 
single  file,  each  stepping  on  the  foot-print  of  the  man  before 
him.  They  sometimes  even  wear  the  hoofs  of  the  buffalo 
or  the  paws  of  the  bear,  and  run  for  miles  in  a  winding 
course  to  imitate  the  track  of  those  animals.  Every  effort 
is  made  to  surprise  the  foe,  and  they  frequently  lure  him  to 
destruction  by  imitating  from  the  depths  of  the  forest  the 
cries  of  animals  of  the  chase. 

If  the  expedition  meet  with  no  straggling  party  of  the 
enemy,  it  advances  with  cautious  stealth  toward  some  prin- 
cipal village  ;  the  warriors  creep  on  their  hands  and  feet 
through  the  deep  woods,  and  often  even  paint  themselves 
the  color  of  dried  leaves  to  avoid  being  perceived  by  their 
intended  victims.  On  approaching  the  doomed  hamlet,  they 
examine  it  carefully,  but  rapidly,  from  some  tree-top  or 
elevated  ground,  and  again  conceal  themselves  till  nightfall 
in  the  thickest  covert.  Strange  to  say,  these  subtle  war- 
riors neglect  altogether  the  security  of  sentinels,  and  are 
satisfied  with  searching  the  surrounding  neighborhood  for 
hidden  foes  ;  if  none  be  discovered,  they  sleep  in  confidence, 
even  when  hostile  forces  are  not  far  ofl^.  They  weakly  trust 
to  the  protecting  power  of  their  Manitous.  When  they 
have  succeeded  in  reaching  the  village,  and  concealing  them- 
selves unobserved,  they  wait  silently,  keeping  close  watch  till 
the  hour  before  dawn,  when  the  inhabitants  are  in  the  deepest 
sleep.  Then  crawling  noiselessly,  like  snakes,  through  the 
grass  and  underwood,  till  they  are  upon  the  foe,  the  chief 
raises  a  shrill  cry,  and  the  massacre  begins.  Discharging  a 
shower  of  arrows,  they  finish  the  deadly  work  with  the  club 


210  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

and  tomahawk.  The  great  object,  however,  of  the  conquerors 
is  to  take  the  enemy  alive,  and  reserve  him  to  grace  their 
triumph  and  rejoice  their  eyes  by  his  torture.  When  resist- 
ance is  attempted,  this  is  often  impossible,  and  an  instant 
death  saves  the  victim  from  the  far  greater  horrors  of  cap- 
tivity and  protracted  torment.  When  an  enemy  is  struck 
down,  the  victor  places  his  foot  upon  the  neck  of  the  dead 
or  dying  man,  and  with  a  horrible  celerity  and  skill  tears 
off  the  bleeding  scalp.*  This  trophy  is  ever  preserved  with 
jealous  care  by  the  Indian  warriors. 

After  any  great  success  the  war  party  always  return  to 
their  villages,  more  eager  to  celebrate  the  victory  than  to 
improve  its  advantages.  Their  women  and  old  men  await 
their  return  in  longing  expectation.  The  fate  of  the  war  is 
announced  from  afar  off  by  well-known  signs ;  the  bad  tidings 
are  first  told.  A  herald  advances  to  the  front  of  the  returning 
party,  and  sounds  a  death-whoop  for  each  of  their  warriors 
who  has  fallen  in  the  fray.  Then,  after  a  little  time,  the 
tale  of  victory  is  told,  and  the  number  of  prisoners  and  of  the 
slain  declared.  All  lamentations  are  soon  hushed,  and  con- 
gratulations and  rejoicing  succeed.  During  the  retreat,  if 
the  war  party  be  not  hard  pressed  by  the  enemy,  prisoners 
are  treated  with  some  degree  of  humanity,  but  are  very 
closely  guarded.  When  the  expedition  has  returned  to  the 
village,  the  old  men,  women,  and  children  form  themselves 
into  two  lines  ;  the  prisoners  are  compelled  to  pass  between 
them,  and  are  cruelly  bruised  with  sticks  and  stones,  but 
not  vitally  injured  by  their  tormentors. 

A  council  is  usually  held  to  decide  the  fate  of  the  prison- 
ers :  the  alternatives  are,  to  be  adopted  into  the  conquering 
nation,  and  received  as  brothers,  or  to  be  put  to  death  in 
the  most  horrible  torments,  thus  either  to  supply  the  place 
of  warriors  fallen  in  battle,  or  to  appease  the  s])irits  of  the 
departed  by  their  miserable  end.  The  older  warriors  among 
the  captives  usually  meet  the  hardest  fate  ;  the  younger  are 
most  frequently  adopted  by  the  women,  their  wounds  are 
cured,  and  they  are  thenceforth  received  in  every  respect  as 
\f  they  belonged  to  the  tribe.  The  adopted  prisoners  go  out 
*  See  Appendix,  No.  LVIII. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  211 

to  war  against  their  former  countrymen,  and  the  new  tie  is 
held  even  more  binding  than  the  old. 

The  veteran  warrior,  whose  tattooed  skin  bears  record  of 
slaughtered  enemies,  meets  with  no  mercy  :  his  face  is 
painted,  his  head  crowned  with  flowers  as  if  for  a  festival, 
black  moccasins  are  put  upon  his  feet,  and  a  flaming  torch 
is  placed  above  hira  as  the  signal  of  condemnation.  The 
women  take  the  lead  in  the  diabolical  tortures  to  which  he 
is  subjected,  and  rage  around  their  victim  with  horrible  cries. 
He  is,  however,  allowed  a  brief  interval  to  sing  his  death- 
song,  and  he  often  continues  it  even  through  the  whole  of 
the  terrible  ordeal.  He  boasts  of  his  great  deeds,  insults  his 
tormentors,  laughing  at  their  feeble  efforts,  exults  in  the 
vengeance  that  his  nation  will  take  for  his  death,  and  pours 
forth  insulting  reproaches  and  threats.  The  song  is  then 
taken  up  by  the  woman  to  whose  particular  revenge  he  has 
been  devoted.  She  calls  upon  the  spirit  of  her  husband  or 
son  to  come  and  witness  the  sufferings  of  his  foe.  After 
tortures  too  various  and  horrible  to  be  particularized,  some 
kind  wound  closes  the  scene  in  death,  and  the  victim's  scalp 
is  lodged  among  the  trophies  of  the  tribe.  To  endure  with 
unshaken  fortitude*  is  the  greatest  triumph  of  an  Indian 
warrior,  and  the  highest  confusion  to  his  enemies,  but  often 
the  proud  spirit  breaks  under  the  pangs  that  rack  the  quiver- 
ing flesh,  and  shouts  of  intolerable  agony  reward  the  demoniac 
ingenuity  of  the  tormentors. 

Many  early  writers  considered  that  the  charge  of  canni- 
balism t  against  the  Indians  was  well  founded  :  doubtless, 

*  The  savage  Cantabrians  and  the  first  inhabitants  of  Spain  sang 
songs  of  triumph  as  they  were  led  to  death  and  while  they  hung  ou 
the  cross.  Strabo  mentions  this  as  a  mark  of  their  ferocity  and  bar- 
barism.— Strabo,  Ub.  iii.,  p.  114. 

t  The  American  word  "cannibal,"  of  a  somewhat  doubtful  signifi- 
cation, is  probably  derived  from  the  language  of  Hayti  or  that  of 
Porto  Rico.  It  has  passed  into  the  languages  of  Europe,  since  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  as  synonymous  with  that  of  Anthropo- 
phagi. "Edaces  humanarum  carnium  novi  heluones  Anthropophagi, 
Caribes,  alias  Canibales  appellati,"  says  Peter  Martyr  of  Anghiera,  in 
the  third  decade  of  his  Oceanics,  dedicated  to  Pope  Leo  X.  "  We 
were  assured  by  all  the  missionaries  whom  we  had  an  opportunity  of 
consulting,  that  the  Caribbees  are  perhajis  the  least  anthropophagous 


212  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

in  moments  of  fury,  portions  of  an  enemy's  flesh  have  been 
rent  oil'  and  eaten.  To  devour  a  foemau's  heart  is  held  by 
them  to  be  an  exquisite  vengeance.  They  have  been  known 
to  drink  draughts  of  human  blood,  and,  in  circumstances  of 
scarcity,  they  do  not  hesitate  to  eat  their  captives.  It  is 
certain  that  all  the  terms  used  by  them  in  describing  the 
torture  of  prisoners  relate  to  this  horrible  practice  ;  yet,  as 
they  are  so  figurative  in  every  expression,  these  may  simply 
mean  the  fullest  gratification  of  revenge.  The  evidence  upon 
this  point  is  obscure  and  contradictory  ;  the  Indian  can  not 
be  altogether  acquitted  or  found  guilty  of  this  foul  imputation. 
The  brief  peace  that  affords  respite  amid  the  continual 
wars  of  the  Indian  tribes  is  scarcely  more  than  a  truce. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  concluded  with  considerable  form  and 
ceremony.  The  first  advance  toward  a  cessation  of  hostilities 
is  usually  made  througli  the  chief  of  a  neutral  poM'er.  The 
nation  proposing  the  first  overture  dispatches  some  men  of 
note  as  embassadors,  accompanied  by  an  orator,  to  contract 
the  negotiation.      They  bear  with  them  the  calumet^  of 

nation  of  the  New  Continent.  We  may  conceive  that  the  fury  and 
despair  with  which  the  unhappy  Caribbees  defended  themselves 
against  the  Spaniards  when,  in  1704,  a  royal  decree  declared  them 
slaves,  may  have  contributed  to  the  reputation  they  have  acquired  of 
ferocity.  The  licendiado  Rodrigo  de  Figuera  was  appointed  by  the 
court  in  1520  to  decide  which  of  the  tribes  of  South  America  might 
be  regarded  as  of  Caribbee  race,  or  a.s  Cannibals,  and  which  were 
Guatiaos,  that  is,  Indians  of  peace,  and  friends  of  the  Castilians. 
Every  nation  that  could  be  accused  of  having  devoured  a  prisoner 
after  a  battle  was  arbitrarily  declared  of  Caribbee  race.  All  the  tribes 
designated  by  Figuera  as  Caribbees  were  condemned  to  slavery,  and 
might  at  will  be  sold  or  exterminated  in  war." — Humboldt's  Personal 
Narrative,  vol.  vi.,  p.  35. 

Charlevoix  and  Lafitau  speak  of  the  cannibalism  of  the  North 
American  Indians  as  a  generally  acknowledged  fact :  Lafitau  mentions 
the  Abenafjuis  as  the  only  tribe  who  held  it  in  detestation. — Lafitau, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  307. 

*  "  On  ne  peut  gueres  douter  que  les  sauvages  en  faisant  fumer 
dans  le  calumet  ceux  dont  ils  rccherchent  I'allianco  ou  le  commerce, 
n'ayent  intention  de  prendre  le  soleil  pour  tcmoin  et  en  quelque  fafon 
pour  garant  de  leur.s  trailes,  car  ils  ne  manqucnt  jamais  de  pousser  la 
fumce  vers  cettc  astre  :  .  .  .  Fumer  done  dans  la  meme  pipe,  en  signe 
dalliance,  est  la  mcme  chose  que  de  boire  dans  la  merae  coupe,  comma 
il  s'est  do  tout  terns  pratique  dans  plusieurs  nations." — Charlevoix, 
torn,  v.,  p.  313. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  213 

peace  as  the  symbol  of  their  purpose,  and  a  certain  number 
of  wampum  belts*  to  note  the  objects  and  conditions  of  the 

Calumet  in  general  signifies  a  pipe,  being  a  Norman  word,  derived 
from  chalumeau.  The  savages  do  not  understand  this  word,  for  it  was 
introduced  into  Canada  by  the  Normans  when  they  first  settled  Ihere, 
and  has  still  continued  in  use  among  the  French  planters.  The  calumet, 
or  pipe,  is  called  in  the  Iroquois  language  ganondaoe,  and  by  the  other 
savage  natives,  poagau. 

Embassadors  were  never  safe  among  any  of  the  savage  tribes  who 
do  not  smoke  the  calumet. — Lafitau,  vol.  ii.,  p.  313.  At  the  time  of 
the  early  French  writers  on  Indian  customs,  the  calumet,  since  almost 
universally  in  use,  was  only  known  among  the  tribes  inhabiting  Lou- 
isiana, who  in  many  respects  were  more  advanced  in  civilization  than 
those  of  the  cold  northern  regions. 

*  Wampum  is  the  Indian  name  of  ornaments  manufactured  by  the 
Indians  from  vari-colored  shells'  which  they  get  on  the  shore  of  the 
fresh-water  streams,  and  tile  or  cut  into  bits  of  half  an  inch,  or  an 
inch  in  length,  and  perforate,  giving  them  the  shape  of  pieces  of 
broken  pipe-stems,  which  they  string  on  deer's  sinews,  or  weave  them 
ingeniously  into  war-belts  for  the  waist.  The  wampum  is  evidently 
meant  in  the  description  of  the  csurgny  or  cornibolz,  given  by  Veraz- 
zano  in  Ramusio,  which  has  so  much  puzzled  translators  and  com- 
mentators. Lafitau  and  Charlevoix  both  describe  it  under  the  name 
of  porcelainc. 

"  La  porcelaine  dont  nous  parlons  ici,  est  bien  difTerente  de  ces 
ouvrages  de  porcelaine  qu'on  apporte  de  la  Chine  ou  du  Japan^  dont 

*  "  Amongf  the  numerous  shells  which  are  found  on  the  sea-shore,  there  are  some 
which  by  the  English  here  are  called  clams,  and  which  bear  some  resemblance  to  the 
numan  ear.  They  have  a  considerable  thickness,  and  are  chiefly  white,  excepting  the 
pointed  end,  which  both  within  and  without  hath  a  blue  color,  between  purple  and 
violet.  The  shells  contain  a  large  animal,  which  is  eaten  both  by  Indians  and 
Europeans.  The  shells  of  these  clams  are  used  by  the  Indians  as  money,  and  make 
what  they  call  their  wampum  ;  they  likewise  serve  their  women  for  an  ornament 
when  they  intend  to  appear  in  full  dress.  These  wampums  are  properly  made  of  tho 
purple  part  of  the  shells,  which  the  Indians  value  more  than  the  white  parts.  A 
traveler  who  goes  to  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  is  well  stocked  with  them,  may  be- 
come a  considerable  gainer,  but  if  he  take  gold  coin  or  bullion  he  will  undoubtedly  be 
a  loser ;  for  the  Indians  who  live  farther  up  the  country  put  little  or  no  value  on  the 
metals  which  we  reckon  so  precious,  as  I  have  frequently  observed  in  the  course  of 
my  travels.  The  Indians  formerly  made  their  own  wampums,  though  not  without  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  ;  but  at  present  the  Europeans  employ  themselves  in  that  way, 
and  get  considerable  profit  by  it." — Kalm  in  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  455. 

2  "Marsden  et  la  Comte  Baldelli  ont  rappellci,  dans  leur  savans  commentaires  du 
Milione  de  Marco  Polo,  que  c'est  le  nom  de  la  coquille  du  genere  Cyprsa  a  dos  bomb6 
(porcellanor,  de  porcello,  en  latin  porcellus,  pourcelaine  du  pere  Trigault)  qui  a  donn6 
lieu  t,  la  denomination  do  porcelaine  par  laquelle  les  peu[)les  occidentaux  ont  d6sign6 
les  Vasa  Sinica.  Marco  Polo  se  sert  du  mot  porcellane,  et  pour  les  coquilles  karis,  ou 
courii^s,  employees  corame  monnaie  dans  I'lnde,  et  pour  la  poterie  fine  de  la  Chine. 


214  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

negotiation.      The  orator  explains  the  meaning  of  the  belts 

la  matiere  est  une  terre  beluttee  et  preparee.  Celle  ci  est  tiree  do 
certains  eoqiiillafres  de  mer,  connues  en  generale  sous  le  nom  de 
poreelaines — celles  dont  nos  sauvages  se  servent  sont  canelees,  et 
semblable  pour  leur  figure  aux  coquilles  de  St.  Jacques.  II  y  a  de 
porcelaine  de  deux  sortes,  I'une  est  blanche,  et  c'est  la  plus  commune. 
L'autre  est  d'un  violet  obscur ;  plus  elle  tire  sur  Ic  noir  plus  elle  est 
estimee.  La  porcelaine  qui  sert  pour  les  affaires  d'etat  est  toute 
travaillee  au  petits  cylindres  de  la  longueur  d'un  quart  de  pouco  et 
gros  a  proportion.  On  les  distribue  en  deux  manieres,  en  branches 
et  en  colliers.  Les  branches  sont  composees  de  cylindres  enfiles  sans 
ordre,  a  la  suite  les  uns  des  autres  eomme  des  grains  de  chapelet. 
La  porcelaine  en  est  ordinairement  toute  blanche,  et  on  ne  s'en  sert 
que  pour  des  affaires  d'une  legere  consequence.  Les  colliers  sont  de 
larges  ceintures,  ou  les  petits  cylindres  blancs  et  pourpre  sont  disposes 
par  rangs  et  assujettes  par  de  petites  bandelettes  de  cuir,  dont  on  fait 
un  tissu  assez  pi-opre.  Leur  longcur,  leur  largueur  et  les  grains  de 
couleur  se  proportionnent  a  I'importance  de  I'aiiaire.  Les  colliers 
comrauns  et  ordinaires  sont  de  onzc  rangs  de  cent  quatrc-vingt  grains 
chacun.     Le  fisc,  ou  le  tresor  public  consiste  principalement  en  ces 

sortes  de  colliers Les  sauvages  n'ont  rien  de  plus  precicux 

que  leur  Porcelaine ;  co  sont  leurs  bijoux,  leurs  pierreries.  lis  en 
eomptent  jusqu'  aux  grains,  et  cela  leur  tient  lieu  de  toute  richesse." 
— Lafitau,  1720. 

Catl'in  writes  thus  in  1842:  '"Among  the  numerous  tribes  "who 
have  formerly  inhabited  the  Atlantic  coast,  wampum  has  been  in- 
variably manufactured  and  highly  valued  as  a  circulating  medium 
(instead  of  coins,  of  which  the  Indians  have  no  knowledge),  so  many 
strings,  or  so  many  hands'  breadth,  being  the  fixed  value  of  a  horse,  a 
gun,  a  robe,  &c.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  after  I  passed  the 
Mississippi  I  saw  but  very  little  wampum  used,  and  on  ascending  the 
Missouri,  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  seen  it  worn  at  all  by  the  Upper 
]\Ii.ssouri  Indians,  although  the  same  materials  for  its  manufacture  are 
found  in  abundance  in  those  regions.  Below  the  Lions  and  along  the 
whole  of  our  western  frontier,  the  different  tribes  are  found  loaded  and 
beautifully  ornamented  with  it,  which  they  can  now  afford  to  do,  for 
they  consider  it  of  little  value,  as  the  fur  traders  have  ingeniously  in- 
troduced an  imitation  of  it,  manufactured  by  steam  or  otherwise,  of 
porcelain  or  some  composition  closely  resembling  it,  with  which  they 
have  flooded  the  whole  Indian  country,  and  sold  at  so  reduced  a  price 
as  to  cheapen,  and  consequently  destroy,  the  value  and  meaning  of  the 
original  wampum,  a  string  of  which  can  now  but  very  rarely  bo  found 
in  any  part  of  the  country."' — Catlin,  vol.  i.,  p.  223. 

La  blancheur  lugtr^e  de  plusienrs  cap^ces  do  la  famillc  des  Duccinoides,  ap- 

pnllSeB  de  poiircelaines  au  mnjen  tge,  n  sans  doute  suffi  pour  faire  donner  aux  beaux 
vases  c^rnmiques  de  la  Chine  uno  denominatiun  aaalogue.  Ces  coquilles  ne  sont  pas 
entries  dans  la  composition  do  la  porcelaine." — Humboldt,  Giog.  du  sVouveau  Conti- 
nent, torn,  v.,  p.  106. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  215 

to  the  hostile  chiefs,  and  if  the  proposition  be  received,  the 
opposite  party  accept  the  proffered  symbols,  and  the  next 
day  present  others  of  a  similar  import.  The  calumet  is  then 
solemnly  smoked,  and  the  bm-ial  of  a  war  hatchet  for  each 
party  and  for  each  ally  concludes  the  treaty.  The  negotia- 
tions consist  more  in  presents,  speeches,  and  ceremonies,  than 
in  any  demands  upon  each  other ;  there  is  no  property  to 
provide  tribute,  and  the  victors  rarely  or  never  require  the 
formal  cession  of  any  of  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  vanquished. 
The  unrestrained  passions  of  individuals,  and  the  satieT;y  of 
long  continued  peace,  intolerable  to  the  Indian,  soon  again 
lead  to  the  renewal  of  hostility. 

The  successful  hunter  ranks  next  to  the  brave  warrior  in 
the  estimation  of  the  savage-.  Before  starting  on  his  grand 
expeditions,  he  prepares  himself  by  a  course  of  fasting,  dream- 
ing, and  religious  observances,  as  if  for  war.  He  hunts  with 
astonishing  dexterity  and  skill,  and  regards  this  pursuit  rath- 
er as  an  object  of  adventure  and  glory  than  as  an  industrious 
occupation. 

With  regard  to  cultivation  and  the  useful  arts,  the  In- 
dians are  in  the  very  infancy  of  progress.*  Their  villages 
are  usually  not  less  than  eighteen  miles  apart,  and  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  narrow  circle  of  imperfectly-cleared  land, 
slightly  turned  up  with  a  hoe,  or  scraped  with  pointed 
sticks,  t  scarcely  interrupting  the  continuous  expanse  of  the 

*  "  Avant  d'avoir  I'usage  des  moulins,  ils  brisaient  lenrs  grains 
dans  les  piles,  ou  des  mortiers  de  bois,  avec  des  pilons  de  mcme 
maticre.  Hesiode  nous  donne  la  mesure  de  la  pile  et  du  pilon  des 
anciens,  et  de  nos  sauvages,  dans  ces  paroles,  '  Coupez  moi  une  pile 
de  trois  pieds  de  haut,  et  un  pilon  de  la  longueur  de  trois  coudecs.' 
(Hesiod,  Opera  et  Dies,  lib.  v.,  411  ;  Servius  in  lib.  ix.,  ^Eneid.  Init.) 
Caton  met  aussi  la  pile  et  le  pilon,  au  nombre  des  meubles  rustiques 
de  son  temps.  Les  Pisons  prirent  leur  nom  de  cette  maniere  de  piler 
le  bled." — Lafitau. 

t  "  II  leur  suffit  d'un  raorceau  de  bois  recourbc  de  trois  doigts  de 
largeur,  attache  a  un  long  mouche  qui  leur  sert  a  sarcler  la  terre,  et 
a  la  remuer  legerement." — Lafitau,  torn,  ii.,  p.  76. 

Catlin  says  that  the  tribe  of  Mandans  raise  a  great  deal  of  corn. 
This  is  all  done  by  the  women,  who  make  their  boef  of  the  shoulder- 
blades  of  the  buffalo  or  elk,  and  dig  the  ground  over  instead  oi'  plow- 
ing  it,  which  is  consequently  done  with  a  va«t  deal  of  lal)or. — Vol.  i., 
p.  121. 


216  TFIE   CONaUEST    OF    CANADA. 

forest.  They  are  onljr  acquainted  with  the  rudest  sorts  of 
clay  manufactures,  and  the  use  of  the  metals  (except  by 
European  introduction)  is  altogether  unknown.  *  Their 
women,  however,  display  considerable  skill  in  weaving  fine 
mats,  in  staining  the  hair  of  animals,  and  working  it  into 
brilliant  colored  embroideries.  The  wampum  belts  are 
made  with  great  care  and  some  taste.  The  calumet  is 
also  elaborately  carved  and  ornamented  ;  and  the  painting 
and  tattooing  of  their  bodies  sometimes  presents  well-execu- 
ted and  highly  descriptive  pictures  and  hieroglyphics.  They 
construct  light  and  elegant  baskets  from  the  swamp  cane, 
and  are  very  skillful  in  making  bows  and  arrows  ;  some 
tribes,  indeed,  were  so  rude  as  not  to  have  attained  even  to 
the  use  of  this  primitive  weapon,  and  the  sling  was  by  no 
means  generally  known. 

Most  of  the  American  nations  are  without  any  fixed  form 
of  government  whatever.  The  coniplete  independence  of 
every  man  is  fully  recognized.  He  may  do  what  he  pleases 
of  good  or  evil,  useful  or  destructive,  no  constituted  power 
interferes  to  thwart  his  will.  If  he  even  take  away  the 
life  of  another,  the  by-standers  do  not  interpose.  The  kin- 
dred of  the  slain,  however,  will  make  any  sacrifice  for  ven- 
geance. And  yet,  in  the  communities  of  these  children  of 
nature  there  usually  reigns  a  wonderful  tranquillity.  A  dead- 
ly hostility  exists  between  the  difl'erent  tribes,  but  among  the 

*  "  Nothing  so  distinctly  marks  the  uncivilized  condition  of  the  North 
American  Indian  as  his  total  ignorance  of  the  art  of  metalhirgy.  Forged 
iron  has  been  in  use  among  the  inhabitants  of  our  hemisphere  from 
time  immemorial;  for,  though  the  process  employed  for  obtaining  the 
malleability  of  a  metal  in  its  mallcalilc  state  is  ver}'  complicated,  yet 
M.  de  Marian  has  clearly  proved  that  the  several  eras  at  which  ^vrit- 
ers  have  pretended  to  fix  the  discovery  are  entirely  fabulous." — Lettrcs 
SU7-  la  Chine. 

Consequently  the  weapons  of  brass  and  other  instruments  of  metal 
found  in  the  dikes  of  Upper  Canada,  Florida,  &c.,  are  among  the 
strongest  indications  of  the  superiority  of  those  ancient  races  of 
America  who  have  now  entirely  passed  away. 

"Know,  then,"  says  Cotton  Mather,  "that  these  doleful  creatures 
are  the  veriest  ruins  of  mankind.  They  live  in  a  country  full  of 
metals,  but  the  Indians  were  never  owners  of  so  much  as  a  knife  till 
wc  came  among  ihem  Their  name  for  an  Englishman  was  'knife- 
man 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  217 

members  comprising  each  the  strictest  union  exists.  Tlic 
honor  and  prosperity  of  his  nation  is  the  leading  object  of 
the  Indian.  This  national  feeling  forms  a  link  to  draw  him 
closely  to  his  neighbor,  and  he  rarely  or  never  uses  violence 
or  evil  speech  against  a  countryman.  Where  there  is  scarce- 
ly such  a  thing  as  individual  property,  government  and  just- 
ice are  necessarily  very  much  simplified.  There  exists  al- 
most a  community  of  goods.  No  man  wants  while  another 
has  enough  and  to  spare.  Their  generosity  knows  no  bounds. 
Whole  tribes,  when  ruined  by  disasters  in  war,  find  unlimit- 
ed hospitality  among  their  neighbors ;  habitations  and  hunt- 
ing-grounds are  allotted  to  them,  and  they  are  received  in 
every  respect  as  if  they  were  members  of  the  nation  that 
protects  them. 

As  there  is  generally  no  wealth  or  hereditary  distinction 
among  this  people,  the  sole  claim  to  eminence  is  founded  on 
such  personal  qualities  as  can  only  be  conspicuous  in  war, 
council,  or  the  chase.  During  times  of  tranquillity  and  in- 
action all  superiority  ceases.  Every  man  is  clothed  and 
fares  alike.  Relations  of  patronage  and  dependence  are  un- 
known. All  are  free  and  equal,  and  they  perish  rather  than 
submit  to  control  or  endure  correction.  During  war,  indeed, 
or  in  the  chase,  they  render  a  sort  of  obedience  to  those  who 
excel  in  character  and  conduct,  but  at  other  times  no  form  of 
government  whatever  exists.  The  names  of  magistrate  and 
subject  are  not  in  their  language.  If  the  elders  interpose  be- 
tween man  and  man,  it  is  to  advise,  not  to  decide.  Author- 
ity is  only  tolerated  in  foreign,  not  in  domestic  aflairs. 

Music  and  dancing  express  the  emotions  of  the  Indian's 
mind.  He  has  his  songs  of  war  and  death,  and  particular 
moments  of  his  life  are  appointed  for  their  recital.  His 
great  deeds  and  the  vengeance  he  has  inflicted  upon  his  en- 
emies are  his  subjects  ;  the  language  and  music  express  his 
passions  rudely  but  forcibly.      The  dance*  is  still  more  im- 

*  Chateaubriand,  vol.  i.,  p.  233 ;   Charlevoix. 

"  The  dances  of  the  Red  Indian.s  form  a  singular  and  important 

feature  throughout  the  customs  of  the  aborigines  of  the  New  World. 

In  these  are  typified,  by  signs  well  understood  by  the  initiated,  and. 

as  it  were,  by  hieroglyphic  action,  their  historical  event-,  their  pro- 

VOL.  I.' — K 


218  THE    CONaUEriT    OF    CANADA. 

portant  :  it  is  the  grand  celebration  at  every  festival,  and 
alternately  the  exponent  of  their  triumph,  anger,  or  devotion. 
It  is  usually  pantomimic,  and  highly  descriptive  of  the  sub- 
ject to  which  it  is  appropriate. 

The  Indians  are  immoderately  fond  of  play  as  a  means 
of  excitement  and  agitation.  While  gaming,  they,  who  are 
usually  so  taciturn  and  indifferent,  become  loquacious  and 
eager.  Their  guns,  arms,  and  all  that  they  possess  are 
freely  staked,  and  at  times  where  all  else  is  lost,  they  will 
trust  even  their  personal  safety  to  the  hazard  of  the  die.* 
The  most  barbarous  of  the  tribes  have  unhappily  succeeded 
in  inventing  some  species  of  intoxicating  liquor  :  that  from 
the  root  of  the  maize  w^as  in  general  use  ;  it  is  not  disagree- 
able to  the  taste,  and  is  very  powerful.  When  the  accursed 
fire-water  is  placed  before  the  Indians,  none  can  resist  the 
temptation.  The  wisest,  best,  and  bravest  succumb  alike 
to  this  odious  temptation :  and  when  their  unrestrained 
passions  are  excited  by  drinking,  they  are  at  times  guilty  of 
enormous  outrages,  and  the  scenes  of  their  festivities  often 
become  stained  with  kindred  blood.  The  women  are  not 
permitted  to  partake  of  this  fatal  pleasure  ;  their  duty  is  to 
serve  the  guests,  and  take  care  of  their  husbands  and  friends 
when  overpowered  by  the  debauch.  This  exclusion  from  a 
favorite  enjoyment  is  evidence  of  the  contempt  in  which 
females  are  held  among  the  Indians. 

In  the  present  day,  he  who  would  study  the  character 
and  habits  of  these  children  of  Nature  must  travel  far  away 

jcctcd  enterprises,  their  hunting,  their  ambuscades,  and  their  battles, 
resembling  in  some  respects  the  Pyrrhic  dances  of  the  ancients." — 
Washington  Irving's  Columbus,  vol.  ii.,  p.  122. 

"  la  the  province  of  Pasto,  on  the  ridge  of  the  Cordillera,  I  have 
.seen  masked  Indians,  armed  with  rattles,  performing  savage  dances 
around  the  altar,  while  a  Franciscan  monk  elevated  the  host." — Hum- 
boldt's Noiivenu  Espagne,  vol.  i.,  p.  411. 

See,  also,  Lafitau's  Mxurs  des  Sauvagcs  Ameriquains  compares  aux 
onccurs  des  premiers  temps,  torn,  i.,  p.  526.  He  refers  to  Plutarch,  in 
Lycurgo,  for  an  account  of  similar  Spartan  dances. 

*  Charlevoix  ;  Lafitau  ;   Bonclier,  Hisloire  du  Canada. 

"  The  players  prepare  for  their  ruin  by  religious  observances ;  they 
fast,  they  watch,  they  pray.'' — Chateaubriand,  vol.  i.,  p.  240.  See 
Appendix,  No.  LTX. 


THE    CONUUKiST    Of    CANADA.  210 

beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  the  murrain  of  per- 
verted civilization  has  not  yet  spread.  There  he  may  still 
find  the  virtues  and  vices  of"  the  savage,  and  lead  among 
those  wild  tribes  that  fascinating  life  of  libei'ty  which  few 
have  ever  been  known  to  abandon  willingly  for  the  restraints 
and  luxuries  of  civilization  and  refinement. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


While  the  French  were  busied  in  establishing  themselves 
upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  their  ancient  rivals 
steadily  progressed  in  the  occupation  of  the  Atlantic  coasts 
of  North  America. 

Generally  speaking,  the  oldest  colonies  of  England  were 
founded  by  private  adventurers,  at  their  own  expense  and 
risk.  In  most  cases,  the  soil  of  the  new  settlements  was 
granted  to  powerful  individuals  or  companies  of  merchants, 
and  by  them  made  over  in  detail  to  the  actual  emigrants 
for  certain  considerations.  Where,  however,  as  often  oc- 
curred, the  emigrants  had  settled  prior  to  the  grant,  or  were 
in  a  condition  to  disregard  it,  they  divided  the  land  accord- 
ing to  their  own  interests  and  convenience.  These  unrecog- 
nized proprietors  prospered  more  rapidly  than  those  who 
were  trammeled  by  engagements  with  non-resident  authori- 
ties. The  right  of  government,  as  M'ell  as  the  nominal 
possession  of  the  soil,  was  usually  granted  in  the  first  instance, 
and  the  new  colonies  were  connected  with  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain  by  little  more  than  a  formal  recognition  of 
sovereignty.  But  the  disputes  invariably  arising  between 
the  nominal  proprietors  and  the  actual  settlers  speedily 
caused,  in  most  cases,  a  dissolution  of  the  proprietary  gov- 
ernment, and  threw  the  colonies  one  by  one  under  royal 
authority. 

The  system  then  usually  adopted  was  to  place  the  colony 
under  the  rule  of  an  English  governor,  assisted  by  an  upper 
House  of  Parliament,  or  Council,  appointed  by  himself,  and 


220  TliK    CUNUUEST    OF    CANADA. 

a  Lower  House,  possessing  the  power  of  taxation,  elected 
by  the  people.  All  laws,  hoM'ever,  enacted  by  these  local 
authorities  were  subject  to  the  approbation  of  the  British 
crown.  This  was  the  outline  of  colonial  constitutions  in 
every  North  American  settlement,  except  in  those  established 
under  peculiar  charters.  The  habit  of  self-government  bore 
its  fruit  of  sturdy  independence  and  self-reliance  among  our 
transatlantic  brethren,  and  the  prospect  of  political  privileges 
ofiered  a  special  temptation  to  the  English  emigrant  to  em- 
bark his  fortunes  in  the  New  World.  At  their  commence- 
ment trade  was  free  in  all,  and  religion  in  most  of  the  new 
colonies  ;  and  it  was  only  by  slow  degrees  that  their  fiscal 
regulations  were  brought  under  the  subordination  of  the 
mother  country. 

Although  a  general  sketch  of  British  colonization  in  North 
America  is  essential  to  the  illustration  of  Canadian  history, 
it  is  unnecessary  to  detail  more  than  a  few  of  the  leading 
features  of  its  nature  and  progress,  and  of  the  causes  which 
placed  its  interests  in  almost  perpetual  antagonism  with 
those  of  French  settlement.  This  subject  is  rendered  not 
a  little  obscure  and  complicated  by  the  contradictory  claims 
and  statements  of  proprietors,  merchant  adventurers,  and 
settlers  ;  the  separation  of  provinces  ;  the  abandonment  of 
old,  and  the  foundation  of  new  settlements.* 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,!  of  Compton,  in  Devonshire,  formed 
the  first  plan  of  British  colonization  in  America.  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, who  then  wore  the  crown,  willingly  granted  a  patent 
conveying  most  ample  gifts  and  powers  to  her  worthy  and 
distinguished  subject.  He  was  given  forever  all  such  "  hea- 
then and  barbarous  countries"  as  he  might  discover,  with 
ab.solute  authority  therein,  both  by  sea  and  land.  Only 
homage,  and  a  lil'th  part  of  the  gold  and  silver  that  might 
be  obtained,  was  reserved  for  the  crown. 

The  first  expedition  of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  failed  in 

*  See  Preface  to  Bunerol'l's  Hislory  of  the  United  States. 

t  "Sir  Humphrey  had  jdiblished,  in  1576,  a  treatise  concerning  a 
northwest  passage  to  the  lOasi  Indies,  which,  although  tinctured  with 
the  pedantry  of  the  age,  is  lull  of  practical  sense  and  judicious  argu- 
rnenl."'— P.  F.  Tytler's  Life  of  Sir  Walliy  Raleigh,  p.  26. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  221 

the  very  commencement.  The  adventurers  were  mifortu- 
nately  selected;  many  deserted  the  cause,  and  others  engaged 
in  disastrous  quarrels  among  themselves.  The  chief  was 
ultimately  obliged  to  set  out  with  only  a  few  of  his  own 
tried  friends.  *  He  encountered  very  adverse  weather,  and 
was  driven  back  with  the  loss  of  a  ship  and  one  of  his  trust- 
iest companions!  [1580].  This  disaster  was  a  severe  blow 
to  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  as  most  of  his  property  was  em- 
barked in  the  undertaking.  However,  with  unshaken  de- 
termination, and  aided  by  Sir  George  Peckham,  Sir  Walter 
Haleigh,  $  and  other  distinguished  men,  he  again  equipped 
an  expedition,  and  put  to  sea  in  the  year  1583. 

*  "  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  step-brother  to  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  was 
one  of  his  companions  in  this  enterprise,  and,  although  it  proved  un- 
successful, the  instructions  of  Sir  Humphrey  could  not  fail  to  be  of 
service  to  Raleigh,  who  at  this  time  was  not  much  above  twenty-five, 
while  the  admiral  must  have  been  in  the  maturity  of  his  years  and 
abilities."— Tytler,  p.  27. 

t  "  On  its  homeward  passage,  the  small  squadron  of  Gilbert  was 
dispersed  and  disabled  by  a  Spanish  fleet,  and  many  of  the  company 
were  slain ;  but,  perhaps  owing  to  the  disastrous  issue  of  the  fight,  it 
has  been  slightly  noticed  by  the  English  historians." — Oldy's  Life  of 
Raleigh,  p.  28,  29. 

t  Raleigh,  who  had  by  this  time  risen  into  favor  with  the  queen, 
did  not  embark  on  the  expedition,  but  he  induced  his  royal  mistress  to 
take  so  deep  an  interest  in  its  success,  that,  on  the  eve  of  its  sailing 
from  Plymouth,  she  commissioned  him  to  convey  to  Sir  H.  Gilbert  her 
earnest  wishes  for  his  success,  with  a  special  token  of  regard — a  little 
trinket  representing  an  anchor  guided  by  a  lady.  The  following  was 
Raleigh's  letter,  written  from  the  court :  "  Brother — I  have  sent  you 
a  token  from  her  majesty,  an  anchor  guided  by  a  lady,  as  you  see ; 
and,  further,  her  highness  willed  me  to  send  you  word  that  she  wished 
you  as  great  good  hap  and  safety  to  your  ship  as  if  she  herself  were 
there  in  person,  desiring  you  to  have  care  of  yourself  as  of  that  which 
she  tendereth ;  and  therefore,  for  her  sake,  you  must  provide  for  it 
accordingly.  Farther,  she  commandeth  that  you  leave  your  picture 
with  me.  For  the  rest,  I  leave  till  our  meeting,  or  to  the  report  of 
this  bearer,  who  would  needs  be  the  messenger  of  this  good  news. 
So  I  commit  you  to  the  will  and  protection  of  God,  who  sends  us  such 
life  and  death  as  he  shall  please  or  hath  appointed.  Richmond,  this 
Friday  morning.  Your  true  brother,  Walter  Raleigh." — This  let- 
ter is  indorsed  as  having  been  received  March  18,  1582-3,  and  it  may 
be  remarked  that  it  settles  the  doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  Prince's  story 
.  of  the  golden  anchor,  questioned  by  Campbell  in  his  Lives  of  the  Ad~ 
mirah.     In  the  Hcroohgia  Anglice,  p.  65,  there  is  a  fine  print  of  Sir 


222  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

The  force  with  which  this  bold  adventurer  undertook  to 
^ain  possession  of  a  new  continent  was  miserably  small. 
The  largest  vessel  was  but  of  200  tons  burden  ;  the  Delight, 
in  which  he  himself  sailed,  was  only  120  tons,  and  the  three 
others  composing  the  little  fleet  were  even  much  smaller. 
The  crew  and  adventurers  numbered  altogether  260  men, 
most  of  them  tradesmen,  mechanics,  and  refiners  of  metal. 
There  was  such  difflculty  in  completing  even  this  small 
equipment,  that  some  captured  pirates  were  taken  into  the 
service. 

The  expedition  sailed  from  Concert  Bay  on  the  11th  of 
May,  1583.  Three  days  afterward,  the  Raleigh,  *"  the 
largest  ship  of  the  fleet,  put  back  to  land,  under  the  plea 
that  a  violent  sickness  had  broken  out  on  board,  but,  in 
reality,  from  the  indisposition  of  the  crew  to  risk  the  enter- 
prise. The  loss  of  this  vessel  was  a  heavy  discouragement 
to  the  brave  leaders.  After  many  delays  and  difliculties 
from  the  weather  and  the  misconduct  of  his  followers,  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert  reached  the  shores  of  Newfoundland, 
where  he  found  thirty-six  vessels  engaged  in  the  fisheries. 
He,  in  virtue  of  his  royal  patent,  immediately  assumed 
authority  over  them,  demanding  and  obtaining  all  the  sup- 
plies of  which  he  stood  in  need :  he  also  proclaimed  his  own 
and  the  queen's  possession  of  the  country.  Soon,  however, 
becoming  sensible  that  this  rocky  and  dreary  wilderness  of- 
fered little  prospect  of  wealth,  he  proceeded  with  three  ves- 
sels, and  a  crew  diminished  by  sickness  and  desertion,  to  the 

Humphrey  Gilbert,  taken  evidently  from  an  original  picture ;  but,  un- 
like the  portrait  mentioned  by  Granger,  it  doos  not  bear  the  device 
mentioned  in  the  text.  Raleigh's  letter  explains  this  difference.  When 
Sir  Humphrey  was  at  Plymouth,  on  the  eve  of  sailing,  the  queen  com- 
mands him,  we  see,  to  leave  his  picture  with  Raleigh.  This  must 
allude  to  a  portrait  already  painted ;  and,  of  course,  the  golden  anchor 
then  sent  could  not  be  seen  in  it.  Now,  he  perished  on  the  voyage. 
The  picture  at  Devonshire  House,  mentioned  by  Granger,  which  bears 
this  honorable  badge,  must,  therefore  have  been  painted  after  his 
death. — Tytler's  Raleigh,  p.  45  ;  Granger's  Biographical  History,  vol. 
i.,  p.  246;  Caylcy,  vol.  i.,  p.  31;  Prince's  Wor-thies  of  Devonshire. 

*  "  This  ship  was  of  200  tons  burden  :  it  had  been  built  under 
Raleigh's  own  eye,  equipped  at  his  expense,  and  commanded  by  Cap-  _ 
tnin  Butler,  her  master  being  Thomas  Davis,  of  Bristol." — Tytler,  p.  44. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  223 

American  coast.  Owing  to  his  imprudence  in  approaching 
the  foggy  and  dangerous  shore  too  closely,  the  largest  vessel  * 
struck,  and  went  to  pieces.  The  captain  and  many  of  the 
crew  were  lost ;  some  of  the  remainder  reached  Newfound- 
land in  an  open  boat,  after  having  endured  great  hardships. 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  altogether  failed  in  reaching  any 
part  of  the  main  land  of  America.  The  weather  became 
very  bad,  the  winter  approached,  and  provisions  began  to 
fail :  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  return,  and  with  bitter 
regret  and  disappointment  he  adopted  that  course.  The 
two  remaining  vessels  proceeded  in  safety  as  far  as  the  me- 
ridian of  the  Azores  ;  there,  however,  a  terrible  tempest  as- 
sailed them.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  of  September  the 
smaller  of  the  two  boats  was  observed  to  labor  dangerously. 
Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  stood  upon  her  deck,  holding  a  book 
in  his  hand,  encouraging  the  crew.  "  We  are  as  near  to 
heaven  by  sea  as  by  land,"  he  called  out  to  those  on  board 
the  other  vessel,  as  it  drifted  past  just  before  nightfall. 
Darkness  soon  concealed  his  little  bark  from  sight ;  but  for 
hours  one  small  light  was  seen  to  rise  and  fall,  and  plunge 
about  among  the  furious  waves.  Shortly  after  midnight  it 
suddenly  disappeared,  and  with  it  all  trace  of  the  brave 
chief  and  his  crew.  One  maimed  and  storm-tossed  ship 
returned  to  England  of  that  armament  which  so  short  a 
time  before  had  been  sent  forth  to  take  possession  of  a  New 
World.! 

The  English  nation  was  not  diverted  from  the  pursuit  of 
colonial  aggrandizement  by  even  this  disastrous  failure.  The 
queen,  however,  was  more  ready  to  assist  by  grants  and 
patents  than  by  pecuniary  supplies.  Many  plausible  schemes 
of  settlement  were  put  forward  ;  but  the  difficulty  of  obtain- 

*  The  Delight.  The  Swalloiv  had,  a  short  time  before,  been  sent 
home  with  some  of  the  crew,  who  were  sick.  The  remaining  barks 
were  the  Golden  Hind  and  the  Squirrel,  the  first  of  forty,  the  last  of 
ten  tons  burden.  For  what  reason  does  not  appear,  the  admiral  in- 
sisted, against  the  remonstrances  of  his  officers  and  crew,  in  having 
his  flag  in  the  Squirrel.  It  was  a  fatal  resolution.  The  larger  vessel, 
the  Golden  Hind,  arrived  at  Falmouth  on  the  22d  September,  1583. 

t  See  Captain  Edward  Haies's  Narrative  of  the  Expedition  of  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert  ;  Hakluyt,  vol.  iii.,  p.  143-159- 


224  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ing  sufficient  means  of  carrying  them  into  eflect,  prevented 
their  being  adopted.  At  length  the  illustrious  Sir  Walter 
Pi-aleigh  undertook  the  task  of  colonization  at  his  own  sole 
charge,  and  easily  obtained  a  patent  similar  to  that  conferred 
upon  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert.  He  soon  sent  out  two  small 
vessels,  under  skillful  naval  officers,  to  search  for  his  new 
government.  Warned  by  the  disasters  of  their  predecessors, 
they  steered  a  more  southerly  course.  When  soundings  in- 
dicated an  approach  to  land,  they  already  observed  that  the 
breeze  from  the  shore  was  rich  with  delicious  odors  of  fruits 
and  flowers.  They  proceeded  very  cautiously,  and  presently 
Ibund  that  they  had  reached  a  long,  low  coast,  without  har- 
bors. The  shore  was  flat  and  sandy ;  but  softly  undulating 
green  hills  were  seen  in  the  interior,  covered  with  a  great 
profusion  of  rich  grapes.  This  discovery  proved  to  be  the 
island  of  Okakoke,  off  North  Carolina.  [1584.]  The  En- 
glish were  well  received  by  the  natives,  and  obtained  from 
them  many  valuable  skins  in  exchange  for  trinkets.  Some 
limited  explorations  were  made,  after  which  the  expedition 
returned  to  England,  bearing  very  favorable  accounts  of  the 
new  country,*  which  filled  Pvaleigh  with  joy,  and  raised  the 
expectations  of  the  whole  kingdom.  In  honor  of  England's 
maiden  queen,  the  name  of  Virginia  was  given  to  this  land 
of  promise. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  now  embarked  nearly  all  his  fortune 
in  another  expedition,  consisting  of  seven  small  ships,  which 
he  placed  under  the  able  command  of  Sir  Pvichard  Greenville, 
surnamed  "  the  Brave."  The  little  fleet  reached  Virginia 
on  the  29th  of  June,  1585,  and  the  colony  was  at  once 
landed.  The  principal  duties  of  settlement  were  intrusted 
to  Mr.  Ralph  Lane,  who  proved  unequal  to  the  charge. 
The  coast,  however,  was  explored  for  a  considerable  distance, 
and  the  magnificeut  Bay  of  Chesapeake  discovered. 

Lane  penetrated  to  the  head  of  Roanoke  Sound ;  there, 

*  Oldy's  Life  of  Raleigh,  p.  58.  The  description  given  of  Vir- 
ginia by  the  two  captains  in  command  of  the  exi^dition  (Captains 
Philip  Amadas  and  Walter  Barlow)  was,  that  "the  soil  is  the  most 
j)lentiful,  sweet,  fruitful,  and  wholesome  of  all  the  world.  We  found 
the  people  most  gentle,  loving,  faithful,  void  of  all  guile  and  treason, 
aiifl  such  as  lived  after  the  manner  of  the  Gulden  AzeS' 


THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA.  S25 

without  provocation,  he  seized  a  powerful  Indian  chief  and 
his  son,  and  retained  the  latter  a  close  prisoner,  in  the  hope, 
through  him,  of  ruling  the  father.  The  natives,  exasperated 
at  this  injury,  deceived  the  English  with  false  reports  of  great 
riches  to  be  found  in  the  interior.  Lane  proceeded  up  the 
river  for  several  days  with  forty  men,  but,  sufi'ering  much 
from  the  want  of  provisions,  and  having  been  once  openly 
attacked  by  the  savages,  he  returned  disheartened  to  the 
coast,  where  he  found  that  the  Indians  were  prepared  for  a 
general  rising  against  him,  in  a  confederacy  lormed  of  the 
surroundmg  tribes,  headed  by  a  subtle  chief  called  Pemisapan. 
In  the  mean  time,  however,  the  captive  became  attached  to 
the  English,  warning  them  of  the  coming  danger,  and  naming 
the  day  for  the  attack.  Lane,  resolving  to  strike  the  first 
blow,  suddenly  assailed  the  Indians  and  dispersed  them  ; 
afterward,  at  a  parley,  he  destroyed  all  the  chiefs  with  dis- 
graceful treachery.  Henceforth  the  hatred  of  the  savages  to 
the  English  became  intense,  and  they  ceased  to  sow  any  of 
the  'lands  near  the  settlement,  with  the  view  of  starving  their 
dangerous  visitors. 

The  colonists  were  much  embarrassed  by  the  hostilities  of 
the  Indians  ;   the  time  appointed  by  Raleigh  and  Greenville 
for  sending  them  supplies  had  passed  ;   a  heavy  despondency 
fell  upon  their  minds,  and  they  began  earnestly  to  wish  ibr 
a  means  of  returning  home.     But,  suddenly,  notice  was  given 
that  a  fleet  of  twenty-three  sail  was  at  hand,  whether  friendly 
or  hostile  no  one  could  tell :  to  their  great  joy,  it  proved  to 
be  the  armament  of  Sir  Francis  Drake.      Lane  and  his  fol- 
lowers immediately  availed  themselves  of  this  opportunity, 
and  with  the  utmost  haste  embarked  for  England,  totally 
abandoning  the  settlement.    [1586.]      A  few  days  after  this 
unworthy  flight,  a  vessel  of  100  tons,  amply  provided  with 
aid  for  the  colony,   arrived   upon  its  deserted  shores  ;    the 
crew  in  vain  searched  the  coast  and  neighborhood  for  their 
fellow-countrymen,  a\id  then  steered  for  England.      A  fort- 
night after  Sir  Richard  Greenville  arrived  with  three  well- 
appointed  ships,  and  found   a  lonely  desert  where  he  had 
expected  a  flourishing  colony  :  he  also  returned  to  England 
in  deep  disappointment,  leaving,  however,  a  small  party  to 


226  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

hold  possession,  of  the   country  till  he   should  return  with 
ampler  resources. 

The  noble  Raleigh  was  not  discouraged  by  this  unhappy 
complication  of  errors  and  disasters  ;  he  immediately  dis- 
patched another  expedition,  with  three  ships  under  the  com- 
mand of  John  White.  But  a  terrible  sight  presented  itself 
on  their  arrival  :  the  fort  razed  to  the  ground,  the  houses 
ruined  and  overgrown  with  grass,  and  a  few  scattered  bones, 
told  the  fate  of  their  countrymen.  The  little  settlement  had 
been  assailed  by  300  Indians,  and  all  the  colonists  destroyed 
or  driven  into  the  interior  to  an  unknown  fate.  By  an  un- 
fortunate error.  White  attacked  one  of  the  few  tribes  that 
were  friendly  to  the  English,  in  the  attempt  to  revenge  the 
cruel  massacre.  After  this  unhappy  exploit,  he  was  compelled, 
by  the  discontent  of  his  followers,  to  return  to  England,  for 
the  purpose  of  procuring  them  supplies.*  From  various 
delays,  it  was  not  till  1590  that  another  expedition  reached 
Virginia.  But  again  silence  and  desolation  reigned  upon 
that  fatal  shore.  The  colony  left  by  White  had  been  de- 
stroyed like  its  predecessor.  Raleigh  at  last  abandoned  the 
scheme  of  settlement  that  had  proved  ruinously  disastrous  to 
him  and  all  concerned,  and  the  brave  Sir  Richard  Greenville 
was  soon  after  slain.    [loOl.Jf 

*  Unfortunately,  on  White's  arrival  in  England,  the  nation  was 
wholly  engrossed  by  the  expected  invasion  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  and 
Sir  Richard  Greenville,  who  was  preparing  to  sail  for  Virginia,  received 
notice  that  his  services  were  wanted  at  home.  Raleigh,  however,  con- 
trived to  send  out  White  with  two  more  vessels ;  but  they  were  attacked 
by  a  Spanish  ship  of  war,  and  so  severely  shattered  that  they  were 
obliged  to  return.  Another  expedition  could  not  be  undertaken  until 
1590  ;  and  no  trace  could  then,  or  over  after,  be  found  of  the  unfor- 
tunate colony  left  by  While. 

"  Robertson  reproaches  Raleigh  with  levity  in  now  throwing  up  his 
scheme  of  a  Virginian  colony.  But,  really,  when  we  consider  that  in 
the  course  of  four  years  he  had  sent  out  seven  successive  expeditions, 
each  more  unfortunate  than  the  other,  and  had  spent  i€40,000 — nearl)' 
his  whole  fortune — without  the  least  prospect  of  a  return,  it  can  not 
be  viewed  as  a  very  unaccountable  caprice  that  he  should  get  sick  of 
the  business,  and  be  glad  to  transfer  it  into  other  hands." — Murray, 
vol.  i.,  p.  254. 

t  For  an  account  of  Sir  Richard  Greenville's  death,  see  Appendix, 
No.  LX. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  227 

The  interest  of  the  pubUc  in  Virginia  remained  suspended 
till  the  year  1602,  when  Captain  Bartholomew  Gosnold 
undertook  a  voyage  thither,  and  brought  back  such  brilliant 
reports  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  country,  that  the 
dormant  attention  of  the  English  toward  this  part  of  the 
world  was  again  aroused.  In  1606,  Arundel,  Lord  War- 
dour,  sent  out  a  vessel  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Weymouth,  to  make  further  discoveries.  The  report  of 
this  voyage  more  than  confirmed  that  of  the  preceding. 

The  English  nation  were  now  at  length  prepared  to  make 
an  efficient  attempt  to  colonize  the  New  World.  In  Lon- 
don, and  at  Plymouth  and  Bristol,  the  principal  maritime 
cities  of  the  kingdom,  the  scheme  found  iiumerous  and  ardent 
supporters.  James  I.,  however,  only  granted  such  powers  to 
the  adventurers  as  suited  his  own  narrow  and  arbitrary  views : 
he  refused  to  sanction  any  sort  of  representative  government 
in  the  colony,  and  vested  all  power  in  a  council  appointed  by 
himself*     Virginia  was,  about  that  time,  divided  somewhat 

*  "  The  fundamental  idea  of  the  older  British  colonial  policy  appears 
to  have  been,  that  wherever  a  man  went,  he  carried  with  him  the  rights 
of  an  Englishman,  \vhatever  these  were  supposed  to  be.  In  the  reign 
of  James  I.,  the  state  doctrine  was,  that  most  popular  rights  were 
usurpations ;  and  the  colonists  of  Virginia,  sent  out  under  the  protec- 
tion of  government,  were  therefore  placed  under  that  degree  of  control 
which  the  state  believed  itself  authorized  to  exercise  at  home.  The 
Puritans  exalted  civil  franchise  to  a  republican  pitch ;  their  colonies 
were  therefore  republican ;  there  was  no  such  notion  as  that  of  an  in- 
termediate state  of  tutelage  or  semi-liberty.  Hence  the  entire  absence 
of  solicitude  on  the  part  of  the  mother  country  to  interfere  with  the 
internal  government  of  the  colonies  arose  not  altogether  from  neglect, 
but  partly  from  principle.  This  is  remarkably  proved  by  the  fact  that 
representative  government  was  seldom  expressly  granted  in  the  early 
charters  ;  it  was  assumed  by  the  colonists  as  a  matter  of  right.  Thus, 
to  use  the  odd  expression  of  the  historian  of  Massachusetts,  '  A  house 
of  burgesses  broke  out  in  Virginia,'  in  1619,'  almost  immediately  after 
its  second  settlement ;  and  although  the  constitution  of  James  contained 
no  such  element,  it  was  at  once  acceded  to  by  the  mother  country  as 
a  thing  of  course.  No  thought  was  ever  seriously  entertained  of  sup- 
plying the  colonies  with  the  elements  of  an  aristocracy.  Virginia  was 
the  only  province  of  old  foundation  in  which  the  Church  of  England 
was  established ;  and  there  it  was  abandoned,  with  very  little  help,  to 
the  caprice  or  prejudices  of  the  colonists,  under  which  it  speedily  de- 

1  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts,  p.  94. 


228  Tur,  coNauEST  of  canaua. 

capriciously  into  two  parts  :  the  southern  portion  was  given 
1o  a  merchant  company  of  London,  the  northern  to  a  mer- 
chant company  of  Bristol  and  Plymouth.* 

The  southern,  or  London  Company,  were  the  first  to 
commence  the  Avork  of  colonization  with  energy.      On  the 

caved.  The  Puritans  enjoj-ed,  undisturbed,  their  peculiar  notions  of 
pcelesiastical  government.  '  It  concerneth  Xew  England  always  to 
remember  that  they  were  originally  a  plantation  religious,  not  a  plant- 
ation of  trade.  And  if  any  man  among  us  make  religion  as  twelve, 
and  the  world  as  thirteen,  such  an  one  hath  not  the  spirit  of  a  triie 
IN'ew  Englandman.'  And  when  they  chose  to  illustrate  this  noble 
principle  by  decimating  their  own  numbers  by  persecution,  and  ex- 
pelling from  their  limits  all  dissenters  from  their  own  establishment, 
the  mother  country  never  exerted  herself  to  protect  or  prohibit.  The 
only  ambition  of  the  state  was  1o  regulate  the  trade  of  its  colonies  :  in 
this  respect,  and  this  only,  they  wei'e  fenced  round  with  restrictions, 
and  watched  with  the  most  diligent  jealousy.  They  had  a  right  to 
.self-government  and  self-taxation  ;  a  right  to  religious  freedom,  in  the 
sense  which  they  chose  themselves  to  put  upon  the  word ;  a  right  to 
construct  their  municipal  polity  as  thej'  pleased ;  but  no  right  to  con- 
trol or  amend  the  slightest  fiscal  regulation  of  the  imperial  authority, 
however  oppressively  it  might  bear  upon  them. 

"  Such,  I  say,  were  the  general  notions  prevailing  in  England  on  the 
.subject  of  colonial  government  during  the  period  of  the  foundation  and 
early  development  of  our  transatlantic  colonies — the  notions  by  which 
tiie  practice  of  government  was  regulated — although  I  do  not  a.ssert 
that  they  were  framed  into  a  consistent  and  logical  theory.  Perhaps 
we  shall  not  be  far  v.rong  in  regarding  Lord  Chatham  as  the  last  dis- 
tinguished assertor  of  these  principles,  in  an  age  when  they  had  begun 
to  be  partially  superseded  by  newer  .speculations." — Merivale  On  Col- 
onization, vol.  i.,  p.  102. 

*  "In  the  spring  of  1606,  James  I.  by  patent  divided  Virginia  into 
I  wo  colonies.  The  southern  included  all  lands  between  the  34th  and 
•1 1st  degrees  of  north  latitude.  This  was  granted  to  the  London  Com- 
pany. The  northern  included  all  lands  between  the  .38th  and  4.5th 
ilogrees  of  north  latitude,  and  was  granted  to  the  Plymouth  Company. 
To  prevent  disputes  .about  territory,  the  colonies  were  forbidden  to  plant 
within  a  hundred  miles  of  each  other.  There  appears  an  inconsistency 
in  these  grants,  as  the  lands  lying  between  the  38th  and  41st  degrees 
are  covered  by  both  patents. 

"In  the  month  of  August,  1615,  Captain  John  Smith  arrived  in 
England,  where  he  drew  a  map  of  the  northern  part  of  Virginia,  and 
'•ailed  it  New  England.  From  this  time  the  name  of  Virginia  was 
confined  to  the  southern  part  of  the  colony." — Winterbottom  s  History 
of  Jlmerica,  vol.  iv.,  p.  165.  See  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States, 
vol.  i.,  p.  120. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  229 

1  9tli  of  December,  1606,  they  dispatched  an  expedition  of 
three  vessels,  commanded  by  Captain  Newport,  comprising 
a  number  of  people  of  ranlc  and  distinction.  Among  these 
was  Captain  John  Smith,  whose  admirable  qualities  were 
afterward  so  conspicuously  and  usefully  displayed.  The 
expedition  met  with  such  delays  and  difficulties  that  it  was 
at  one  time  on  the  point  of  returning  to  England.  At 
length,  however,  they  descried  an  unknown  cape,  and  soon 
afterward  entered  Chesapeake  Bay,  where  the  beauty  and 
fertility  of  the  shores  even  surpassed  their  expectations.* 
On  first  landing,  they  met  the  determined  hostility  of  the 
savages,  but  when  the  fleet  proceeded  to  Cape  Comfort,  they 
there  received  a  more  friendly  reception,  and  were  invited 
ashore.  The  Indians  spread  their  simple  stores  of  dainties 
before  the  strangers,  smoked  with  them  the  calumet  of  peace, 
and  entertained  them  with  songs  and  dances.  As  the  ex- 
pedition moved  higher  up  the  bay,  where  no  English  had 
been  before  seen,  it  met  with  a  still  more  cordial  welcome. 

Jamestown  was  the  first  permanent  English  settlement 
established  in  America,  although  it  has  not  since  risen  to 
very  great  im.jDortance.  The  site  was  chosen  by  this  ex- 
pedition  about  forty  miles  above  the  entrance,  upon  the  banks 
of  James  River,  where  the  emigrairts  at  once  proceeded  to 
establish  themselves.  They  suffered  great  distress  from  the 
commencement  on  account  of  the  bad  quality  of  the  provisions, 
furnished  under  contract  by  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  company.  Disease  soon  followed 
want,  and  in  a  short  time  fifty  of  the  settlers  died.  Under 
these  difficult  circumstances,  the  energy  and  abihty  of  Cap- 
tain John  Smith  pointed  him  out  as  the  only  person  to  com- 
mand, and  by  the  consent  of  all  he  was  invested  with  absolute 
authority.  He  arranged  the  internal  affairs  of  the  colony  as 
he  best  could,  and  then  set  out  to  collect  supplies  in  the 
neighboring  country.  The  Indians  met  him  with  derision, 
and  refused  to  trade  with  him ;  he  therefore,  urged  by  neces- 
sity, drove  them  away,  and  took  possession  of  a  village  well 
stocked  with  provisions.  The  Indians  soon  returned  in  force 
and  attacked  him  furiously,  but  were  easily  repulsed.  After 
*  Peicv,  in  Pnrchas,  iv.,  1687. 


230  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

their  defeat  they  opened  a  friendly  intercourse,  and  furnished 
the  required  suppHes.  Smith  made  several  further  excursions. 
On  returning  to  the  colony,  he  found  that  a  conspiracy  had 
been  formed  among  his  turbulent  followers  to  break  up  the 
settlement  and  sail  for  England  ;  this  he  managed  to  suppress, 
and  soon  again  started  to  explore  the  country.  In  this  ex- 
pedition he  rashly  exposed  himself  unprotected  to  the  assaults 
of  the  Indians,  and  was  taken  prisoner  after  a  most  gallant 
attempt  at  escape.  He  was  led  about  in  triumph  for  some 
time  from  village  to  village,  and  at  length  sentenced  to  die. 
His  head  was  laid  upon  a  stone,  and  the  executioner  stood 
over  him  with  a  club,  awaiting  the  signal  to  slay,  when 
Pocahontas,  daughter  of  the  Indian  chief,  implored  her 
father's  mercy  for  the  white  man.  He  was  inexorable,  and 
ordered  the  execution  to  proceed  ;  but  the  generous  girl  laid 
her  head  xipon  that  of  the  intended  victim,  and  vowed  that 
the  death  blow  should  strike  her  first.  The  saA'^age  chief 
moved  by  his  daughter's  devotion,  spared  the  prisoner's  life.* 
Smith  was  soon  afterward  escorted  in  safety  to  Jamestown, 
and  given  up  on  a  small  ransom  being  paid  to  the  Indians.! 
[1608.] 

Smith  found,  on  his  arrival,  that  the  colonists  were  fitting 
out  a  pinnace  to  return  to  England.  He,  with  ready  decision, 
declared  that  the  preparations  should  be  discontinued  imme- 
diately, or  he  would  sink  the  little  vessel.  His  prompt  de- 
termination was  successful,  and  the  people  agreed  to  remain. 
Through  the  generous  kindness  of  Pocahontas,  supplies  of 
provisions  were  furnished  to  the  settlement,  till  the  arrival 
of  a  vessel  from  England,  replenished  its  stores.      Soon  after 

*  "  This  celebrated  scene  is  preserved  in  a  beautiful  piece  of  sculpture 
over  the  western  door  of  the  Rotundo  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington. 
The  group  consists  of  five  fissures,  representing  the  precise  moment 
when  Pocahontas,  by  her  interposition,  saved  Smith  from  being  executed. 
It  is  the  work  of  Capellano,  a  pupil  of  Canova's." — Thatcher's  Indian 
Biography,  vol.  i.,  p.  22.  See  Appendix,  No.  LXI.,  for  the  History 
of  Pocahontas. 

t  Smith,  in  Pinkerton,  xiii.,  ,51—55.  "The  account  is  fully  con- 
tained in  Ihe  oldest  book  printed  in  V^irginia,  in  our  Cambridge  library. 
It  is  a  thin  quarto,  in  black  letter,  by  John  Smith,  printed  in  1608."' — 
IJaiicroft's  Hist,  of  the  United  Slates,  vol.  i.,  p.  132. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  231 

his  happy  escape  from  the  hands  of  the  savages,  Smith 
again  started  fearlessly  upon  an  expedition  to  exjdorc  the 
remainder  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  sailed  in  a  small  barge, 
accompanied  only  by  twelve  men,  and  with  this  slender 
force  completed  a  voyage  of  3000  miles  along  an  unknown 
coast,  among  a  fierce  and  generally  hostile  peoj^le,  and  depend- 
ing on  accident  and  his  own  ingenuity  for  supplies.  During 
several  years  Pocahontas  continued  to  visit  the  English,  but 
her  father  was  still  hostile,  and  once  endeavored  to  surprise 
Smith  and  slay  him  in  the  woods  ;  but  again  the  generous 
Indian  girl  saved  his  life  at  the  hazard  of  her  own  :  in  a 
dark  night  she  ran  for  many  miles  through  the  forest, 
evading  the  vigilance  of  her  fierce  countrymen,  and  warned 
him  of  the  threatened  danger.  An  open  war  now  ensued 
between  the  English  and  the  Indians,  and  was  continued 
with  great  mutual  injury,  till  a  worthy  gentleman  named 
Thomas  Rolfe,  deeply  interested  by  the  person  and  character 
of  Pocahontas,  made  her  his  wife  ;  a  treaty  was  then  con- 
cluded with  the  Indian  chief,  which  was  henceforth  relig- 
iously observed .   [1613.] 

The  colony*  meanwhile  proceeded  with  varied  fortunes. 
The  emigrants  had  been  very  badly  selected  for  their  task  : 
"  poor  gentlemen,  tradesmen,  serving-men,  libertines,  and 
such  like,  ten  times  more  fit  to  spoil  a  commonwealth  than 
either  to  begin  or  maintain  one."  These  men  were  tempted 
into  the  undertaking  by  hopes  of  sudden  wealth,  and  were 
altogether  disinclined  to  even  the  slight  labor  of  tilling  that 
exuberant  soil,  when  only  a  subsistence  was  to  be  their 
reward.  In  1619  James  commenced  the  system  of  trans- 
porting malefactors,  by  sending  100  "dissolute  persons"  to 
Virginia.  These  men  were  used  as  laborers,  or  rather 
slaves,  but  tended  seriously  to  lower  the  character  of  the 

*  In  the  year  1610,  the  South  Virginian  or  London  Company  scaled 
a  patent  to  Lord  Delawarr,  constituting  him  Governor  and  Captain- 
General  of  South  Virginia.  His  name  was  given  to  a  bay  and  river, 
and  to  the  Indians  who  dwelt  in  the  surrounding  country,  called  in 
their  own  tongue  Lenni-Lenape,  which  name  signifies  the  original 
PEOPLE.  Lord  Delawarr's  health  was  ruined  by  the  hardships  and 
anxieties  he  was  exposed  to  in  Virginia,  and  he  was  obliged  to  return 
to  England  in  little  more  than  a  year. 


232  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

voluntary  emigration.*  In  1625  only  1800  convicts  re- 
mained alive  out  of  9000  who  had  been  transported  at  a 
cost  of  <£l5,000.t  The  contracted  and  arbitrary  system 
of  the  exclusive  company  was  felt  as  a  great  evil  in  the 
colony. I  This  body  was  at  length  superseded  by  the  for- 
feiture of  its  charter,  and  the  crown  assumed  the  direction 
of  affairs.  Many  years  of  alternate  anarchy  and  tyranny 
followed.  During  the  rebellion  of  Bacon  in  1676,  the 
most  remarkable  event  in  this  early  period  of  Virginian 
history,  English  troops  were  first  introduced  into  the  Ameri- 
can colonies.  Sir  William  Berkeley,  who  was  appointed 
governor  in  1642,  visited  the  insurrectionists  with  a  terrible 
vengeance,  when  the  death  of  the  leader.  Bacon,  left  them 
defenseless.  "  The  old  fool,"  said  Charles  II.  (with  truth), 
"  has  taken  aw^ay  more  lives  in  that  naked  country  than  I 
for  the  murder  of  my  father."  But,  though  the  complaints 
of  the  oppressed  Avere  heard  in  England  with  impartiality, 
and  Berkeley  was  hunted  to  death  by  public  opinion  on  his 
return  there  to  defend  himself,  the  permanent  results  of 
Bacon's  rebellion  were  disastrous  to  Virginia  :   all  the  meas- 

*  Captain  Smith  says  of  Virginia,  "  that  the  number  of  felons  and 
vagabonds  did  bring  such  evil  character  on  the  place,  that  some  did 
choose  to  be  hanged  rather  than  go  there,  and  ivere.'' — Graham's 
Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Unilcd  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  71. 

"  England  adopted  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  system  of  trans- 
portation to  her  North  American  plantations,  and  the  example  was 
propagated  by  Cromwell,  who  introduced  the  practice  of  selling  his 
political  captives  as  slaves  to  the  West  Indians.  But  the  number  of 
regular  convicts  was  too  small,  and  that  of  free  laborers  too  large,  in 
the  old  provinces  of  North  America,  to  have  allowed  this  infusion  of  a 
convict  population  to  produce  much  effect  on  the  development  of  those 
communities,  either  in  respect  of  their  morals  or  their  health.'  Our 
own  times  are  the  iirst  which  have  witnessed  tlie  phenomena  of 
communities,  in  which  the  bulk  of  the  working  people  consists  of 
felons  serving  out  the  period  of  their  puni.shment." — Merrivale, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  3. 

t  Stith's  Hist,  of  Virginia,  p.  167,  168;  Chalmers's  Annals  of  the 
United  Colonies,  p.  69. 

X  Stith's  Hist,  of  Virginia,  p.  307. 

'  It  must  be  remembcrpd  that  the  crimes  of  the  convicts  were  chiefly  polilical. 
The  number  transported  to  Virginia  for  soci.iI  crimes  was  never  considerable — scarcely 
enough  to  sustain  the  sentiment  of  pride  in  its  scorn  of  the  laboring  population — cer- 
tninly  not  enmiKh  to  affoot  ils  chnmrlor. — Bancroft,  vol.  ii..  p.  191. 


THE    CONaUEST    OF    CANADA.  2J^ 

ures  of  reform  which  had  been  attempted  during  its  brief 
success  were  held  void,  and  every  restrictive  feature  that 
had  been  introduced  into  legislation  by  the  detested  governor 
was  perpetuated. 

Among  the  first  settlers  in  Virginia,  gold  was  the  great 
object,  it  was  every  where  eagerly  sought,  but  in  vain. 
Several  ships  were  loaded  with  a  sort  of  yellow  clay,  and 
sent  to  England  under  the  belief  that  it  contained  the  most 
precious  of  metals,  but  it  was  found  to  be  utterly  worthless. 
The  colonists  next  turned  their  attention  to  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco.*  This  speedily  became  so  profitable  that  it  was 
pursued  even  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  industry. 

*  It  is  asserted  by  Camden  that  tobacco  was  first  brought  into 
England  by  Mr.  Ralph  Lane,  who  went  out  as  chief  governor  of 
Virginia  in  the  first  expedition  commanded  by  Sir  Richard  Greenville. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  Lane  was  desired  to  import  it  by  his 
master,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  had  seen  it  used  in  France  during 
his  residence  there. — Camden,  in  Kennet,  vol.  ii.,  p.  509. 

"  There  is  a  well-known  tradition  that  Sir  Walter  first  began  to 
smoke  it  privately  in  his  study,  and  the  servant  coming  in  with  his 
tankard  of"  ale  and  nutmeg,  as  he  was  intent  upon  his  book,  seeing 
the  smoke  issuing  from  his  mouth,  threw  all  the  liquor  in  his  face  by 
way  of  extinguishing  the  fire,  and,  running  down  stairs,  alarmed  the 
family  with  piercing  cries  that  his  master,  before  they  could  get  up, 
would  be  burned  to  ashes." — Oldy's  Life  of  Raleigh,  p.  74. 

"  King  James  declared  himself  the  enemy  of  tobacco,  and  drew 
against  it  his  royal  pen.  In  the  work  which  he  entitled  '  Counterblast 
to  Tobacco,'  he  poured  the  most  bitter  reproaches  on  this  'vile  and 
nauseous  weed.'  He  followed  it  up  by  a  proclamation  to  restrain 
'the  disorderly  trading  in  tobacco,'  as  tending  to  a  general  and  new 
corruption  of  both  men's  bodies  and  minds.  Parliament  also  took  the 
fate  of  this  weed  into  their  most  solemn  deliberation.  Various  mem- 
bers inveighed  against  it,  as  a  mania  which  infested  the  whole  nation ; 
that  plowmen  took  it  at  the  plow ;  that  it  '  hindered'  the  health  of  the 
whole  nation,  and  that  thousands  had  died  of  it.  Its  warmest  friends 
ventured  only  to  plead  that,  before  the  final  anathema  was  pronounced 
against  it,  a  little  pause  might  be  granted  to  the  inhabitants  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  Somer's  Isles  to  find  some  other  means  of  existence  and 
trade.  James's  enmity  did  not  prevent  him  from  endeavoring  to  fill 
his  coffers  by  the  most  enormous  imposts  laid  upon  tobacco,  insomuch 
that  the  colonists  were  obliged  for  some  time  to  send  the  whole  into 
the  ports  of  Holland.  The  government  of  New  England,  more  con- 
sistently, passed  a  complete  interdict  against  tobacco,  the  smoke  of 
which  they  compared  fo  that  of  the  bottomless  pit.  Yet  tobacco,  like 
other  proscribed  objects,   throve  under   persecution,  and  acliieved  a 


234  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

There  yet  remains  to  be  told  one  terrible  incident  in  the 
earlier  story  of  Virginia,  an  incident  that  resulted  in  the 
total  destruction  of  the  Indian  race.  The  successor  to  the 
father  of  Pocahontas  had  conceived  a  deadly  enmity  against 
the  English  :  this  was  embittered  from  day  to  day,  as  ho 
saw  the  hated  white  men  multiplying  and  spreading  over 
the  hunting  grounds  of  his  fathers.  Then  a  fierce  determin- 
ation took  possession  of  his  savage  heart.  For  years  he 
matured  his  plans,  and  watched  the  favorable  moment  to 
crush  every  living  stranger  at  a  blow.  He  took  all  his 
people  into  counsel,  and  such  was  their  fidelity,  and  so 
deep  the  wile  of  the  Indian  chief,  that,  during  four  years 
of  preparation,  no  warning  reached  the  intended  victims. 
To  the  last  fatal  moment,  a  studied  semblance  of  cordial 
friendship  was  observed  ;  some  Englishmen,  who  had  lost 
their  way  in  the  woods  were  kindly  and  carefully  guided 
back  again. 

One  Friday  inorning  (March  22d,  1622)  the  Indians 
came  to  the  town  in  great  numbers,  bearing  presents,  and 
finding  their  way  into  every  house.  Suddenly  the  fierce 
shout  of  the  savages  broke  the  peaceful  silence,  and  the 
death-shriek  of  their  victims  followed.  In  little  more  than 
a  minute,  three  hundred  and  forty-seven,  of  all  ages  and 
sexes,  were  struck  down  in  this  horrid  massacre.  The 
warning  of  an  Indian  converted  to  Christianity  saved  James- 
town. The  surviving  English  assembled  there,  and  began 
a  war  of  extermination   against  the   savages.      By   united 

final  triumph  over  all  its  enemies.  Indeed,  the  enmity  against  it  was  in 
some  respects  beneficial  to  Virginia,  as  drawing  forth  the  most  strict 
prohibitions  against  '  abusing  and  misemploying  the  soil  of  this  fruit- 
ful kingdom'  to  the  production  of  so  odious  an  article.  After  all,  as 
the  impost  for  an  average  of  seven  years  did  not  reach  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  pounds,  it  could  not  have  that  mighty  influence, 
either  for  good  or  evil,  which  was  ascribed  to  it  by  the  fears  and 
passions  of  the  age." — Chalmers,  b.  i.,  ch.  iii.,  with  notes.  Massaire, 
p.  210.     Wives,  p.  197,  quoted  by  Murray. 

"Frenchmen  Ihcy  call  those  tobacco  plants  whose  leaves  do  not 
spread  and  grow  large,  but  rather  spire  upward  and  grow  tall  ;  these 
plants  they  do  not  tend,  not  being  worth  their  labor." — Mr.  Clayton's 
Letter  to  the  Royal  Society,  1688.  Miscellanea  Curiosa,  vol.  iii., 
p.  .303-310. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  235 

force,  superior  arms,  and,  it  must  be  added,  by  treachery  as 
black  as  that  of  their  enemies,  the  white  men  soon  swept 
away  the  Indian  race  forever  from  the  Virginian  soil.* 

As  has  been  before  mentioned,  the  northern  part  of  Vir- 
ginia was  bestow^ed  by  royal  grant  upon  a  Merchant  Com- 
pany of  Plymouth,  and  other  southern  and  western  sea-ports. 
The  first  efibrt  to  take  possession  of  the  new  territory  was 
feeble  and  disastrous.  Twenty-nine  Englishmen  and  two 
Indians  were  sent  out  in  a  little  bark  of  only  fifty-five  tons 
burden  [1606]  ;  they  were  taken  by  the  Spaniards  off  the 
coast  of  Hispaniola,  who  treated  them  with  great  cruelty. 
Some  time  after  this  ill-fated  expedition  had  failed,  another 
colony  of  100  men,  led  by  Captains  Popham  and  Gilbert, 
settled  on  the  River  Sagadahock,  and  built  a  fort  called  by 
them  St.  George.  [1607.]  They  abandoned  the  settlement, 
however,  the  following  year,  and  returned  to  England.  The 
next  project  of  British  North  American  colonization  was  set  on 
foot  by  Captain  John  Smith,  already  so  highly  distinguished 
in  transatlantic  history.  [1614.]  After  much  difficulty, 
he  effected  the  equipment  of  two  vessels,  and  sailed  for  the 
Virginian  shore  ;  but,  although  successful  as  a  trading  spec- 
ulation, the  only  permanent  fruits  of  the  voyage  was  a  map 
of  the  coast,  which  he  presented  to  Charles  I.  The  king, 
always  interested  in  maritime  afi^airs,  listened  favorably  to 
Smith's  accounts  of  the  New  World,  but  proved  either 
unable  or  unwilling  to  render  him  any  useful  assistance. 
The  next  year  this  brave  adventurer  again  crossed  the  seas 
in  a  small  vessel  containing  only  sixteen  emigrants.  The 
little  expedition  was  captured  by  the  French,  and  the  leader, 
with  great  difficulty,  effected  his  return  to  England. 

*  The  colonists  of  A-^irginia,  in  a  kind  of  manifesto  published  in 
1622,  expressed  their  satisfaction  at  some  late  warlike  exciu'sions  of 
the  Indians  as  a  pretext  for  robbing  and  subjugating  them.  "Now 
these  cleared  grounds  in  all  their  villages,  which  are  situated  in  the 
fruitfullest  parts  of  the  land,  shall  be  inhabited  by  us,  whereas  here- 
tofore the  grubbing  of  woods  was  the  greatest  labor.  The  way  of 
conquering  them  is  much  more  easy  than  that  of  civilizing  them  by 
fair  means ;  for  they  are  a  rude,  bai'barous,  and  naked  people,  scat- 
tered in  small  companies,  which  are  helps  to  victory,  but  hinderances 
to  civility." — Tracts  relating  to  Virginia  in  the  British  Museum, 
quoted  by  Merrivale.     See  Appendix,  No.  LXII. 


236  THE  CONaURST  OF  CANADA. 

Meanwhile,  a  man  named  Hmit,  who  had  been  left  in 
charge  of  one  of  the  ships  in  Smith's  first  expedition,  com- 
mitted an  outrage  upon  the  natives  that  led  to  deplorable 
results  [1616]  ;  he  inveigled  thirty  of  them  on  board,  car- 
ried them  suddenly  away,  and  sold  them  into  slavery.  The 
savages  rose  against  the  next  English  party  that  landed 
upon  their  coast,  and  killed  and  wounded  several  in  revenge. 
Captain  Dormer,  a  prudent  and  conciliatory  person,  with 
one  of  the  betrayed  natives,  was  sent  by  the  company  to 
explain  to  the  furious  Indians  that  Hunt's  crime  was  the 
act  of  an  individual,  and  not  of  the  nation  :  this  commission 
was  well  and  wisely  executed.  For  about  two  years  Dormer 
frequently  repeated  his  visits  with  advantage  to  his  employers, 
but  finally  was  attacked  by  strange  savages  and  wounded 
fatally. 

But  still,  through  all  these  difficulties  and  disasters,  ad- 
venturers pressed  on  to  the  fertile  Western  desert,  allured  by 
liberal  grants  of  land  from  the  chartered  companies.  The 
undefined  limits  of  these  concessions  led  to  constant  and 
mischievous  quarrels  among  the  settlers,  often  attended  with 
violence  and  bloodshed :  from  these  causes  the  early  progress 
of  the  colony  was  very  slow.  One  hundred  and  twenty 
years  after  England  had  discovered  North  America,  she 
only  possessed  a  few  scattered  fishing  huts  along  the  shore. 
But  events  were  now  at  hand  Avhich  at  once  stamped  a  pe- 
culiar character  upon  the  colonization  of  this  part  of  the 
New  World,  *  and  which  were  destined  to  exercise  an  influ- 

*  "II  faut  envisagcr  .surtout  I'influenoe  qu"a  exercee  le  Nouveau 
Continent  sur  le.s  destinees  du  genre  humain  sous  le  rapport  des 
institutions  sociales.  La  tourmente  religieuse  du  seiziemc  siecle,  en 
favorisant  I'essor  d'une  libra  reflexion,  a  prelude  a  la  tourmente  poli- 
tique des  temps  dans  lesquels  nous  vivons.  Le  premier  de  ces  mouve- 
mens  a  coincide  avec  I'epoque  de  I'etablissement  des  colonies  Euro- 
peennes  en  Amerique ;  le  second  s'est  fait  .sentir  vers  la  fin  du  dix- 
huitieme  siecle,  et  a  fini  par  briser  les  liens  de  dcpendanee  qui 
nnissaient  les  deux  mondes.  Une  cireonstancc  sur  laqueile  on  n'a 
peut-etre  pas  assez  fixe  i'attenfion  publique  ct  qui  ticnt  a  ces  causes 
mysterieuses  dont  a  dependu  la  distribution  im'fralc  du  f^enre  humain 
sur  le  f,'lobe,  a  favorisee,  on  pourroit  dire,  a  rendre  possible  I'influencc 
politique  que  jo  viens  de  signaler,  line  moitie  du  globe  est  restee  si 
faiblement    pcnplic   que,    rnaign'    le   long   travail    d"une    civilisation 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  237 

ence  upon  the  human  race  of  an  importance  even  yet  incal- 
culable. 

indigene,  qui  a  eu  lien  entre  les  decouvertes  de  Lief  et  de  Colomb,  sur 
les  cotes  Americaines  opposees  a  I'Asie,  d'iramenses  pays  dans  la 
partie  orientale  n'offroient  an  quinzieme  siecle  que  des  tribus  eparses 
de  peuples  chasseurs.  Cet  etat  de  depopulation  dans  des  pays  fertiles 
et  eminemment  aptes  a  la  culture  de  nos  cereales,  a  perniis  aux  Euro- 
peens  d"y  fonder  des  etablissemens  sur  une  echelle  qu'aucune  colonisa- 
tion de  I'Asie  et  de  I'Afrique  n'a  pu  atteindre.  Les  peuples  chasseurs 
ont  ete  refoules  des  cotes  orientales  vers  I'interieur,  et  dans  le  nord  de 
r  Atnerique,  sous  des  climats  et  des  aspects  de  vegetation  tres  analogues 
a  ceux  des  iles  Britanniques,  il  s'est  forme  par  <'nnigration,  des  la  fin 
de  I'annee  1620,  des  communautes  dont  les  institutions  se  presentent 
comme  le  reflet  des  institutions  libres  de  la  mere  patrie.  La  Nouvelle 
Angleterre  n'etoit  pas  primitivement  un  etablissement  d' Industrie  et 
de  commerce,  comme  le  sont  encore  les  factoreries  de  I'Afrique ;  ce 
n'etoit  pas  une  domination  sur  les  peuples  agricoles  d'une  race  difler- 
ente,  comme  I'empire  Britannique  dans  I'Lide,  et  pendant  longtemps, 
I'empire  Espagnole  au  Mexique  et  au  Perou.  La  Nouvelle  Angle- 
terre, qui  a  recu  une  premiere  colonisation  de  quatre  mille  families 
de  puritains,  dont  descend  aujourd'hui  un  tiers  de  la  population  blanche 
des  Etats  Unis,  etoit  un  etablissement  religieux.  La  liberte  civile  s'y 
montrait  des  l^rigine  inseparable  de  la  liberte  du  culte.  Or  I'histoire 
nous  revele  que  les  institutions  libres  de  I'Angleterre,  de  la  Hollande, 
et  de  la  Suisse,  malgre  leur  proximite,  n'ont  pas  reagi  sur  les  peuples 
de  I'Europe  latine,  comme  ce  reflet  de  formes  de  gouvernemens  en- 
tierement  democratiques  qui,  loin  de  tout  ennemi  exterieur,  favorises 
par  une  tendance  uniforme  et  constante  de  souvenirs  et  de  vielles 
mceurs,  ont  pris  dans  un  calme  long-temps  prolonge,  des  developpe- 
mens  inconnus  aux  temps  modernes.  C'est  ainsi  que  le  manque  de 
population  dans  des  regions  des  Nouveau  Continent  opposees  a  FEurope, 
et  le  libre  et  prodigieux  accroissement  d'une  colonisation  Anglaise  au- 
dela  de  la  grande  vallee  do  I'Atlantique,  a  puissamment  contribue  a 
clianger  la  face  politique  et  les  destinees  de  I'ancien  continent.  On  a 
afflrme  que  si  Colomb  n'avoit  pas  change,  selon  les  conseils  d'Alonzo 
Pinzon,'  le  7  Octobre,  1492,  la  direction  de  sa  route,  qui  etoit  de  I'est 
a  I'ouest,  et  gouverne  vers  le  sud-ouest,  il  seroit  entre  dans  le  courant 
d'eau  chaude  ou  Culf  Stream,  et  auroit  ete  porte  vers  la  Floride,  et 
de  la  peut-etre  vers  le  cap  Hatteras  et  la  Virginie,  incident  d'une  im- 
mense importance,  puisqu'il  auroit  pu  donner  aux  Etats  Unis,  en  lieu 
d'une  population  Protestante  Anglaise,  une  population  Catholiquo 
Espagnole." — Humboldt's  Geog.  du  Nouveau  Continent,  torn,  iii., 
p.  163. 

'  Alonzo  s'etoit  6cri6  "que  son  coBur  lui  disoit  que  pour  trouver  la  terre,  il  falloit 
goaverner  vers  le  sud-ouest."  L'inspiratioix  d'Alonzo  6toit  nooius  mystferieuse  qu'elle 
peut  le  paraltre  au  premier  abord.  Pinzon  avoit  vu  dans  la  soir6e  passer  des  perro- 
quets,  et  il  savoit  que  ces  oiseaux  n'alloieut  pas  sans  niolif  du  cdte  du  sud.  Jamais 
rol  J'uissau  n"r.  eu  des  suites'''plvi3  graves. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Thk  Protestant  Reformation  was  eminently  suited  to  the 
spirit  of  the  EngUsh  people,  although  forced  upon  them  in 
the  first  instance  by  the  absolute  power  of  a  capricious  king, 
and  unaccompanied  by  any  acknowledgment  of  those  rights 
of  toleration  and  individual  judgment  upon  which  its  strength 
seemed  mainly  to  depend.  The  monarch,  when  constituted 
the  head  of  the  Church,  exacted  the  same  spiritual  obedience 
from  his  subjects  as  they  had  formerly  rendered  to  the  Pope 
of  Rome.  Queen  Elizabeth  adopted  her  father's  principles  : 
she  favored  the  power  of  the  hierarchy,  and  the  pomp  and 
ceremony  of  external  religious  observances.  But  the  En- 
glish people,  shocked  by  the  horrors  of  Mary's  reign,  and 
terrified  by  the  papal  persecutions  on  the  Continent,  were 
generally  inclined  to  favor  the  extremes  of  Calvinistic  sim- 
plicity, as  a  supposed  security  against  another  reaction  to 
the  Romish  faith.  The  stern  and  despotic  queen,  encour- 
aged by  the  counsels  of  Archbishop  Whitgift,  assumed  the 
groundless  right  of  putting  down  the  opinions  of  the  Puri- 
tans by  force.  [1583.]  Various  severities  were  exercised 
against  those  who  held  the  obnoxious  doctrines ;  but,  despite 
the  storm  of  persecution,  the  spirit  of  religious  independence 
spread  rapidly  among  the  sturdy  people  of  England.  At 
length  a  statute  was  passed  of  a  nature  now  almost  in- 
credible—  secession  from  the  Church  was  punishable  by 
banishment,  and  by  death  in  case  of  refusal  on  return.* 
[1593.] 

The  Puritans  were  thus  driven  to  extremity,  t      The  fol- 

*  35  Eliz.,  c.  1,  Stat.  4.  p.  841-843;  Pari.  Hist.,  p.  863;  Str)'pe's 
Whitgift,  p.  414,  &c. ;  Neale's  Puritans,  vol.  i.,  p.  526,  527,  quoted  by 
Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  290. 

t  "  The  Gospel  Jldvocatc  asserts  that  '  the  jndieial  law  of  Moses 
being  still  in  force,  no  prince  or  law  ought  to  save  the  lives  of  {inter 


THE  CONdUEST  OF  CANADA.  239 

lowers  of  an  enthusiastic  seceder  named  Brown*  formed  the 
first  example  of  an  independent  system  :  each  congregation 
was  in  itself  a  Church,  and  the  spiritual  power  was  wholly- 
vested  in  its  members.  This  sect  was  persecuted  to  the 
uttermost :  the  leader  was  imprisoned  in  no  less  than  thirty- 
two  difterent  places,  and  many  of  his  followers  suffered  death 
itself  for  conscience'  sake.  Some  of  the  Brownists  took  ref- 
uge in  Holland t  [1598]  ;  but,  impelled  by  a  longing  for  an 
independent  home,  or  perhaps  urged  by  the  mysterious  im- 
pulse of  their  great  destiny,  they  cast  their  eyes  upon  that 
stern  Western  shore,  where  the  untrodden  wilderness  offered 
them  at  least  the  "freedom  to  worship  God."  They  applied 
to  the  London  Company  for  a  grant  of  land,  declaring  that 
they  were  "weaned  from  the  delicate  milk  of  their  native 
country,    and    knit  together   in  a  sti'ict   and  sacred  band, 

alios)  heretics,  willful  breakers  of  the  Sabbath,  neglecters  of  the 
sacrament  without  just  reason.'  Well  may  the  historian  of  the  Puri- 
tans (Neale)  say,  '  Both  parties  agreed  in  asserting  the  necessity  of  a 
uniformity  of  public  worship,  and  of  using  the  sicord  of  the  magistrate 
in  support  of  their  respective  principles.''  It  should  never  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  are  inclined  to  blame  the  severe  laws  passed  against 
these  Nonconformists,  that  the  English  government  -was  dealing  with 
men  whose  avowed  wish  and  object  it  was  not  simply  to  be  tolerated, 
but  to  subvert  existing  institutions  in  Church  and  State,  and  set  up  in 
their  place  those  approved  by  themselves." — Godley's  Letters  from 
America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  135. 

*  "  The  most  noisy  advocate  of  the  new  opinions  was  Brown,  a  man 
of  rashness,  possessing  neither  true  courage  nor  constancy.  He  has 
acquired  historical  notoriety  because  his  hot-headed  indiscretion  urged 

him  to  undertake  the  defense  of  separation Brown  eventually 

purchased  a  living  in  the  English  Church  by  conformity." — Bancroft's 
History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  287. 

t  "  But,  although  Holland  is  a  country  of  the  greatest  religious 
freedom,  they  were  not  better  satisfied  there  than  in  England.  They 
were  tolerated,  indeed,  but  watched.  Their  zeal  began  to  have  dan- 
gerous languor  for  want  of  opposition,  and  being  without  power  and 
influence,  they  grew  tired  of  the  indolent  security  of  their  sanctuary. 
They  were  desirous  of  removing  to  a  country  where  they  should  seo 
no  superior." — Russell's  Modern  Europe,  vol.  ii.,  p.  427. 

"They  were  restless  from  the  consciousness  of  ability  to  act  a  more 
important  part  on  the  theater  of  the  world  ....  they  were  moved  by 
an  enlightened  desire  of  improving  their  condition  ....  the  honorable 
ambition  of  becoming  the  founders  of  a  state." — Bancroft's  History  of 
the  United  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  303. 


240  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

whom  small  things  could  not  discourage,  nor  small  discon- 
tents cause  to  wish  themselves  home  again."  After  some 
delay  they  accomplished  their  object  ;  however,  the  only 
security  they  could  obtain  for  religious  independence  was  a 
promise  that,  as  long  they  demeaned  themselves  quietly,  no 
inquiry  should  be  made.  * 

Much  of  the  history  of  nations  may  be  traced  through  the 
foundation  and  progress  of  their  colonies.  Each  particular 
era  has  shown,  in  the  settlements  of  the  time,  types  of  the 
several  mother  countries,  examples  of  their  systems,  and  the 
results  of  their  exigencies.  At  one  time  this  type  is  of  an 
adventurous,  at  another  of  a  rehgious  character ;  now  formed 
by  political,  again  by  social  influences.  The  depth  and  du- 
rability of  this  impress  may  be  measured  by  the  strength  of 
the  first  motives,  and  the  genius  of  the  people  from  whom 
the  emigration  flows. t      The  ancient  colonies  of  Asia  Minor 

*  This  was  a  piomi.se  from  James  I.,  who  had  now  succeeded  to 
the  throne  of  England. 

t  "  A  strongly-marked  distinction  exists  between  the  Southern  and 
Northern  Americans.  The  two  extremes  are  formed  by  the  New 
Englanders^  and  the  Virginians.  The  former  are  certainly  the  more 
respectable.  They  are  industrious,  frugal,  enterprising,  regular  in 
their  habits,  pure  in  their  manners,  and  strongly  impressed  with  sen- 
timents of  religion.  The  name  Yankee,  which  we  apply  as  one  of 
reproach  and  derision  to  Americans  in  general,  is  assumed  by  them 
as  their  natural  and  appropriate  designation.*  It  is  a  common  proverb 
in  America,  that  a  Yankee  will  live  where  another  would  starve. 
Their  very  prosperity,  however,  with  a  certain  reserve  in  their  char- 
acter, and  supposed  steady  attention  to  small  gains,  renders  them  not 
excessively  popular  with  those  among  whom  they  settle.  They  arc 
charged  with  a  peculiar  .species  of  finesse,  called  'Yankee  tricks,'  and 
the  character  of  being  '  up  to  every  thing'  is  applied  to  them,  we 
know  not  exactly  how,  in  a  sense  of  reproach.  The  Virginian  planter, 
on  the  contrary,  is  lax  in  principle,  destitute  of  industry,  eager  in  the 
pursuit  of  rough  pleasures,  and  demoralized  by  the  system  of  negro 
.slavery,  which  exists  in  almost  a  West  Indian  form.  Y'^et,  with  all 
the  Americans  who  attempt  to  draw  the  parallel,  he  seems  rather  iho 
favorite  He  is  frank,  open-hearted,  and  exercising  a  splendid  hospi- 
tality.    Both  Cooper  and  Judge  Hall  report  him  as  a  complete  gen- 

1  Descendants  of  the  Puritans. 

s  "The  word  Yankees  (which  is  the  Indian  corruption  of  English  Yengeese)  is  both 
ofFensive  and  incorrect  as  applied  to  any  but  NewEnglanders."— Godley's  Letters  from 

Amtrica. 


THE  CONUUE.ST  OF  CANADA.  241 

displayed  the  original  characteristics  of  the  mother  country 
long  after  her  states  had  become  utterly  changed.  The 
Roman  settlements  in  Italy  raised  upon  the  ruins  of  a  sub- 
jugated nation  a  fabric  of  civilization  and  power  that  can 
never  be  forgotten.  The  proud  and  adventurous,  but  ruth- 
less spirit  that  distinguished  the  Spanish  nation  at  the  time 
of  their  vv^onderful  conquests  in  the  New  World,  is  still  ex- 
hibited in  the  haughty  tyranny  of  Cuba,  and  the  sanguinary 
struggles  of  the  South  American  republics.  The  French 
Canadian  of  to-day  retains  most  or  many  of  the  national 
sentiments  of  those  who  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  extend  the 
power  of  France  and  of  her  proudest  king.  And  still,  in 
that  great  Anglo-Saxon  nation  of  the  West,  through  the 
strife  of  democratic  ambition,  and  amid  the  toils  and  suc- 
cesses of  an  enormous  commerce,  we  trace  the  foundations, 
overgrown  perhaps,  but  all  unshaken,  of  that  stern  edifice 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty*  which  the  Pilgrim  fathers 
raised  with  their  untiring  labor,  and  cemented  with  their 
blood. 

The  peculiar  nature  of  the  first  New  England  emigration 
was  the  result  of  those  strong  tendencies  of  the  British  people 
soon  afterward  strengthened  into  a  determination  sufficiently 

tleman ;  by  which  they  evidently  mean,  not  the  finished  courtier,  but 
the  English  country  gentleman  or  squire,  though  the  opening  aflbrdcd 
by  the  political  constitution  of  his  country  causes  him  to  cultivate  his 
mind  more  by  reading  and  inquiry.  A  large  proportion  of  the  most 
eminent  and  ruling  statesmen  in  America — Washington,  Jellerson, 
Madison — were  Virginians.  Surrounded  from  their  infancy  with  case 
and  wealth,  accustomed  to  despise,  and  to  see  despised,  money  on  a 
small  scale,  and  no  laborious  exertions  made  for  its  attainment,  they 
imbibe  from  youth  the  habits  and  ideas  of  the  higher  classes.  Lux- 
urious living,  gaming,  horse-racing,  cock-fighting,  and  other  rough, 
turbulent  amusements,  absorb  a  great  portion  of  their  life.  Although, 
therefore,  the  leisure  enjoyed  by  them,  when  well  improved,  may 
have  produced  some  very  elevated  and  accomplished  characters,  they 
can  not,  taken  at  the  highest,  be  considered  so  respectable  a  class  as 
their  somewhat  despised  northern  brethren ;  and  the  lower  ranks  arc 
decidedly  in  a  state  of  comparative  moral  debasement.'" — Murray, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  394. 

*  "James  I.  ranked  among  their  party,  as  much  as  he  was  able 
by  severe  usage,  all  those  who  stood  up  in  defense  even  of  civil  liber- 
ty."— Bolingbroke's  Remarks  upon  English  History,  p.  283. 
VOL.  I. — L 


242  THE  CUNUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

powerful  to  sacrifice  the  monarch  and  subvert  the  Church 
and  State. 

The  Brownists,  or,  as  they  are  more  happily  called,  the 
Pilgrim  fathers,  set  sail  on  the  12th  of  July,  1620,  in  two 
small  vessels.  There  were  in  all  120  souls,  with  a  moderate 
supply  of  provisions  and  goods.  On  the  9th  of  November 
they  reached  Cape  Cod,  after  a  rough  voyage  ;  they  had  been 
obliged  to  send  one  of  their  ships  back  to  England.  From 
ignorance  of  the  coast  and  from  the  lateness  of  the  season, 
they  could  not  find  any  very  advantageous  place  of  settle- 
ment ;  they  finally  fixed  upon  New  Plymouth,*  where  they 
landed  on  the  21st  of  December.  During  the  remainder  of 
the  winter  they  suffered  terribly  from  cold,  want,  and  sick- 
ness ;  no  more  than  fifty  remained  alive  when  spring  came 
to  mitigate  their  .sufferings.  The  after  progress  of  the  little 
colony  was  for  some  time  slow  and  painful.  The  system  of 
common  property!  had  excited  grievous  discontent ;  this 
tended  to  create  an  aversion  to  labor  that  was  to  be  produc- 
tive of  no  more  benefit  to  the  industrious  than  to  the  idle  ; 
in  a  short  time  it  became  necessary  to  enforce  a  certain 
degree  of  exertion  by  the  punishment  of  whipping.  They 
intrusted  all  religious  matters  to  the  gifted  among  their 
brethren,  and  would  not  allow  of  the  formation  of  any 
regular  ministry.  However,  the  unsuitableness  of  these  sys- 
tems to  men  subject  to  the  usual  impulses  and  weakness  of 
human    nature  soon  became  obvious,   and  the   first  errors 

*  "  111  memory  of  the  hospitalities  which  the  company  had  received 
at  the  last  English  port  from  which  they  had  sailed,  this  oldest  New 
England  colony  obtained  the  name  of  Plymouth.  The  two  vessels 
which  conveyed  the  Pilgrim  fathers  from  Delft  Haven  were  the 
Mayflower  and  the  Speedwell.  The  Mayflower  alone  proceeded  to 
America." — Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  313. 

t  '■  Under  the  influence  of  this  wild  notion,  the  colonists  of  New 
Plymouth,  in  imitation  of  the  primitive  Christians,  threw  all  their 
property  into  a  common  stock.'" — Robertson's  America.,  book  x.  One 
(;f  the  many  errors  with  which  the  volume  of  Robertson  teems. 
There  was  no  attempt  at  imitating  the  primitive  Christians;  the 
jiartnersiiip  was  a  consequence  of  negotiation  with  British  merchants; 
the  colonists  preferred  the  system  of  private  property,  and  acted  upon 
it,  as  far  and  as  soon  as  was  possible. — Bancroft's  History  of  the 
i'niled  Ulates,  vol.  i.,  p.  306. 


THE  COXUUEST  OF  CANADA.  243 

were  gradually  corrected.  In  the  course  of  ten  years  the 
population,  reached  to  300,  and  the  settlement  prospered 
considerably. 

King  James  was  not  satisfied  with  the  slow  progress  of 
American  colonization.  [1620.]  In  the  same  year  that  the 
Pilgrim  fathers  landed  at  Plymouth,  he  formed  a  new  com- 
pany under  the  title  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Plymouth,* 
and  appointed  many  people  of  rank  and  influence  to  its 
direction.  Little  good,  however,  resulted  from  this  step. 
Though  the  council  itself  was  incapable  of  the  generous 
project  of  planting  colonies,  it  was  ever  ready  to  make  sale 
of  patents,  which  sales,  owing  to  Parliamentary  opposition 
to  their  claims,  soon  became  their  only  source  of  revenue.! 
They  sold  to  some  gentlemen  of  Dorchester  a  belt  of  land 
stretching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  extending 
three  miles  south  of  the  River  Charles,  and  three  miles  north 
of  everij  part  of  the  Hiver  M-^rrimac.  Other  associates  in 
the  enterprise  were  sought  and  found  in  and  about  London  : 
Winthrop,  Johnson,  Pinchon,  Eaton,  Saltonstall,  Billingham, 
famous  in  colonial  annals.  Endicott,  the  first  governor  of 
the  new  colony,  was  one  of  the  original  purchasers  of  the 
patent.      They  were   all   kindred   spirits,   men   of  religious 

*  "  The  remonstrances  of  the  Virginia  corporation  and  a  transient 
regard  for  the  rights  of  the  country  could  delay,  but  could  not  defeat, 
a  measure  that  was  sustained  by  the  personal  favorites  of  the  mon- 
arch. King  James  issued  to  forty  of  his  .subjects,  some  of  them 
members  of  his  household  and  his  government,  the  most  wealthy  and 
powerful  of  the  English  nobility,  a  patent,  which  in  American  annals, 
and  even  in  the  history  of  the  world,  has  but  one  parallel.  The 
territory  conferred  on  the  patentees  in  absolute  property,  with  un- 
limited jurisdiction,  the  sole  powers  of  legislation,  the  appointment  of 
all  officers  and  all  forms  of  government,  comprised,  and  at  the  time 
was  believed  to  comprise,  much  moie  than  a  million  of  square  miles: 
it  was,  by  a  single  signature  of  King  James,  given  away  to  a  corpora- 
tion within  the  realm,  composed  of  but  forty  individuals." — Bancroft, 
vol.  i.,  p.  273. 

t  "  The  very  extent  of  the  grant  rendered  it  of  little  value.  The 
results  which  grew  out  of  the  concession  of  this  charter  form  a  new 
proof,  if  any  were  wanting,  of  that  mysterious  connection  of  events  by 
which  Providence  leads  to  ends  that  human  councils  had  not  con- 
ceived."— Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p.  273. 

The  Grand  Council  of  Plymouth  resigned  their  charter  in  1635. 


244  THE  CONaUKST  OF  CANADA. 

fervor,  uniting  the  emotions  of  enthusiasm  with  unbending 
resolution  in  action. 

The  first  winter  brought  to  these  colonists  the  usual  priva- 
tion, sufl'ering,  and  death,  but  a  now  rapidly-increasing  em- 
igration more  tlian  filled  up  the  places  of  all  casualties. 
From  this  period,  many  men  of  respectability  and  talent,* 
especially  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  sought  that  religious  free- 
dom!   in  America  which  was  denied  them  at  home.      A 

*  "  The  circumstance  which  threw  a  greater  luster  on  the  colony 
than  any  other  was  the  arrival  of  Islr.  John  Cotton,  the  most  esteemed 
of  all  the  Puritan  ministers  in  England.  He  was  equally  distinguished 
for  his  learning,  and  for  a  brilliant  and  figurative  eloquence.  He  was 
so  generally  beloved  that  his  nonconformit}'  to  the  ritual  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  of  which  he  was  a  minister,  was  for  a  considerable  time 
disregarded.  At  last,  however,  he  was  called  before  the  ecclesiastical 
commission,  and  he  determined  upon  emigration.  '  Some  reverend  and 
renowned  ministers  of  our  Lord'  endeavored  to  persuade  him  that  the 
forms  to  which  he  refused  obedience  were  '  sufl'erable  trifles,'  and  did 
not  actually  amount  to  a  breach  of  the  sccojjd  commandment.  Mr. 
Cotton,  hovrever,  argued  so  forcibly  on  the  opposite  side,  that  several 
of  the  most  eminent  became  all  that  he  was,  and  afterward  followed 
his  example.  There  went  out  with  him  Mr.  Hooker  and  Mr.  Stone, 
who  were  esteemed  to  make  '  a  glorious  triumvirate,'  and  were  received 
in  New  England  with  the  utmost  exultation.  It  was  doubtless  a  severe 
trial  to  these  ministers,  who  appear  really  to  have  been,  as  they  say, 
'  faithful,  watchful,  painful,  serving  their  flock  daily  with  prayers  and 
tears,"  ^vho  possessed  such  a  re])utation  at  home  and  over  Europe,  to 
find  that  no  sooner  did  any  half-crazed  enthusiast  spring  up  or  arrive 
in  the  colony,  that  the  jieople  could  be  prevented  only  by  the  most 
odious  compulsion  from  deserting  their  churches  and  flocking  to  him 
in  a  mass.  Yainlv  did  Mr.  John  Cotton  strive  to  persuade  Roger 
Williams,  the  sectary,  that  the  red  cross  on  the  English  banner,  or  his 
wife's  being  in  the  room  while  he  said  grace,  were  '  sufl~cral)le  trifles,' 
and  '  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  ladies'  treated  his  advice  and  exhortations 
with  equal  disregard  and  contempt.  One  of  them  sent  him  a  pound 
of  candles  to  intimate  his  need  of  more  spiritual  light.  This  was  then 
the  freedom  for  which  his  church  and  his  country  had  been  deserted." 
— Mather ;  Neale  ;   Hutchinson. 

t  "  Robertson  is  astonished  that  Neale  (see  Ncale,  p.  56)  should 
assert  that  freedom  of  religious  worship  was  granted,  when  the  charter 
expressly  asserts  the  king's  supremacy.  But  this,  in  I'act,  was  never 
the  article  at  which  they  demurred ;  for  the  spirit  of  loyalty  was  still 
very  strong.  It  seems  quite  clear,  from  the  confidence  with  which 
they  went,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  acted  when  there,  that, 
tliough  there  was  no  formal  or  written  stipulation,  the  most  full  under- 
standing existed  that  very  ample  latitude  was  to  be  allowed  in  this 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  245 

general  impulse  was  given  among  the  commercial  and  in- 
dustrious classes ;  vessels  constantly  crowded  from  the  English 
ports  across  the  Atlantic,  till  at  length  the  court  took  the 
alarm.  A  proclamation  was  issued  "  to  restrain  the  disorderly 
transportation  of  his  majesty's  subjects,  because  of  the  many 
idle  and  refractory  humors,  '  whose  only  or  principal  end  is 
to  live  beyond  the  reach  of  authority.'  "  It  has  long  been 
a  popular  story  that  eight  emigrant  ships  were  seized  when 
on  the  point  of  sailing  for  America,  and  the  passengers  forced 
to  land  ;  among  whom  were  John  Hampden,*  Sir  Arthur 
Hazlerig,  and  Oliver  Cromwell.  This  tale  has,  however, 
been  proved  untrue  by  modern  historians.! 

respect.  We  have  seen  on  every  occasion  the  vast  sacrifices  which 
kings  were  willing  to  make  in  order  to  people  their  distant  possessions  ; 
and  the  necessity  was  increased  by  the  backwardness  hitherto  visible." 
— Murray's  America,  vol.  i.,  p.  249. 

*  During  the  year  1635  we  find  the  name  of  John  Hampden  joined 
with  those  of  six  other  gentlemen  of  family  and  fortune,  who  united 
with  the  Lords  Say  and  Brooke  in  making  a  purchase  from  the  Earl 
of  Warwick  of  an  extensive  grant  of  land  in  a  wide  wilderness  then 
called  Virginia,  but  which  now  forms  a  part  of  the  State  of  Connecticut. 
That  these  transatlantic  possessions  were  designed  by  the  associates 
ultimately,  or  under  certain  contingencies,  to  serve  as  an  asylum  to 
themselves  and  a  home  to  their  posterity,  there  is  no  room  to  doubt ; 
but  it  is  evident  that  nothing  short  of  circumstances  constituting  a 
moral  necessity  would  have  urged  persons  of  their  rank,  fortunes,  and 
habits  of  life  to  encounter  the  perils,  privations,  and  hardships  attendant 
upon  the  pioneers  of  civilization  in  that  inhospitable  clime.  Accord- 
ingly, they  for  the  present  contented  themselves  with  sending  out  an 
agent  to  take  possession  of  these  territories  and  to  build  a  fort.  This 
was  done,  and  the  town  called  Saybrook,  from  the  united  names  of  the 
two  noble  proprietors,  still  preserves  the  memory  of  the  enterprise. 
They  finally  abandoned  the  whole  design,  and  sold  the  land  in  1636, 
probably. — Miss  Aikin's  Life  of  Charles  /.,  p.  471.  Bancroft,  vol.  i., 
p.  384. 

t  "In  one  of  these  embargoed  ships  had  actually  embarked  for 
their  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  two  no  less  considerable  personages 
than  John  Hampden  and  his  kinsman,  Oliver  Cromwell." — Life  of 
Hampden,  by  Lord  Nugent,  vol.  i.,  p.  254.      London,  1832. 

Lord  Nugent  has  fallen  into  the  vulgar  error,  an  invention,  proba- 
bly, of  the  Puritan  historian,  and  unanswerably  disproved  by  a  reference 
to  Parliamentary  records.  See  Miss  Aikin's  Life  of  Charles  I.,  vol. 
i.,  p.  472;  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  411. 
The  exultation  of  the  Puritan  writers  on  the  subject  is  excessive. 
They  ascribe  all  the  subsequent  mislbrtunes  of  Charles  L  in  connection 


246  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CAVADA. 

Notwithstanding  these  unjust  and  mischievous  prohibitions, 
a  considerable  number  of  emigrants  still  found  their  way  across 
the  Atlantic.  But  when  the  outburst  of  popular  indignation 
swept  away  all  the  barriers  raised  by  a  short-sighted  tyranny 
against  English  freedom,  many  flocked  back  again  to  their 
native  country  to  enjoy  its  newly-acquired  liberty.  [1648.] 
The  odious  and  iniquitous  persecution  of  the  Puritans  resulted 
in  a  great  benefit  to  the  human  race,  and  gave  the  first  strong 
impulse  to  the  spirit  of  resistance  liiat  ultimately  overthrew 
oppression.  It  caused,  also,  the  colonization  of  New  England 
to  be  effected  by  a  class  of  men  far  superior  in  industry, 
energy,  principle,  and  character  to  those  who  usually  left 
their  English  homes  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  new  countries. 
That  religion,  for  which  they  had  made  so  great  a  sacrifice, 
was  the  main-spring  of  all  their  social  and  political  systems. 
They  were,  however,  too  blindly  zealous  to  discriminate  be- 
tween the  peculiar  administration  of  a  theocracy  and  the 
catholic  and  abiding  principles  of  the  Gospel.  If  they  did 
not  openly  profess  that  the  judicial  law  of  Moses  was  still 
in  force,  they  at  any  rate  openly  practiced  its  stern  enact- 
ments. 

The  intolerance  of  these  martyrs  of  intolerance  is  a  sad 

with  the  scheme  of  Providence  to  this  tyrannical  edict,  as  they  call  it. 
— Russell's  Modern  Europe,  vol.  ii.,  p.  237.  See  Bancroft's  History 
of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  412. 

'"Nothing  could  be  more  barbarous  than  this !  To  impose  laws  on 
men  which  in  conscience  they  thoiijrht  they  could  not  comply  with,  to 
punish  them  for  their  noncompliance,  and  continually  revile  them  as 
iindutiful  and  disobedient  subjects  by  reason  thereof,  and  yet  not  permit 
them  peaceably  to  depart  and  enjoy  their  own  opinions  in  a  distant  part 
of  the  world,  yet  dependent  on  ihe  sovereign  :  to  do  all  this  was  base, 
barbarous,  and  inhuman.  But  persecutors  of  all  ages  and  nations  are 
near  the  same ;  they  are  without  the  feelings  and  the  understandings 
of  men.  Cromwell  or  Hampden  could  have  given  little  opposition  to 
the  measures  of  Charles  in  the  wilds  of  North  America,  in  England 
Ihey  engaged  with  spirit  against  him,  and  he  had  reason  to  repent  his 
hindering  their  voyage.  May  such  at  all  times  be  the  reward  of  those 
wlio  attempt  to  rule  over  their  fellowmen  with  rigor :  may  they  find  that 
they  will  not  be  slaves  to  kings  or  priests,  but  tiiat  they  know  the  rights 
by  nature  conferred  on  tliem,  and  will  assert  them  !  This  will  make 
princes  cautious  how  they  give  themselves  up  to  arbitrary  counsels, 
and  dread  the  consequences  of  them."  —  Harris's  Life  of  CromuitU^ 
p.  56. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  247 

example  of  human  waywardness.*  lu  their  Utile  common- 
wealth, seceders  from  the  established  forms  of  faith  v.cre 
persecuted  with  an  unholy  zeal.  Imprisonment,  banishment, 
and  even  death  itself,  were  inflicted  for  that  free  exercise  of 
religious  opinions  which  the  Pilgrim  fathers  had  sacrificed 
all  earthly  interests  to  win  for  themselves.  In  those  dark 
days  of  fanatic  faith  or  vicious  skepticism,  the  softening  in- 
fluence of  true  Christianity  was  but  little  felt.  The  stern 
denunciations  and  terrible  punishments  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  more  suited  to  the  iron  temper  of  the  age  than  the 
gentle  dispensations  of  the  New — the  fiery  zeal  of  Joshua 
than  the  loving  persuasiveness  of  St.  John. 

As  the  tenets  of  each  successive  sect  rose  into  popularity 
and  influenced  the  majority,  they  became  state  questions,! 
distracted  the  Church,  and  threatened  the  very  existence  of 
the  colony.  The  first  schism  that  disturbed  the  peace  of 
the  settlements  was  raised  by  Roger  Williams  at  Salem. 
[1635.]  This  worthy  and  sincere  enthusiast  held  many  just 
and  sound  views  among  others  that  were  wild  and  injurious : 
he  stoutly  upheld  freedom  of  conscience,  and  inconveniently 
contested  the  right  of  the  British  crown  to  bestow  Indian 
lands  upon  Englishmen.  On  the  other  hand,  he  contrived 
to  raise  a  storm  of  fanatic  hatred  against  the  red  cross  in  the 

*  '•  Mr.  Dudley,  one  of  the  most  respectable  of  the  governors,  was 
found,  at  his  death,  with  a  copy  of  verses  in  his  pocket,  which  included 
the  following  couplet : 

"  '  Let  men  of  God  in  court  and  churches  watch 
O'er  such  as  do  a  toleration  hatch." — Chalmers. 

t  "  The  cutting  the  hair  very  close,  which  seemed  supported  by 
St.  Paul's  authority,  was  the  chief  outward  symbol  of  a  Puritan.  In 
the  case  of  a  minister,  it  was  considered  essential  that  the  ear  should 
be  thoroughly  uncovered.  Even  after  the  example  of  Dr.  Owen  and 
other  eminent  divines  had  given  a  sanction  to  letting  the  hair  grow, 
and  even  to  periwigs,  a  numerous  association  was  formed  at  Boston 
(where  Mr.  John  Cotton  was  pastor),  with  Mr.  Endicot,  the  governor, 
at  their  head,  the  members  of  which  bound  themselves  to  stand  by 
each  other  in  resisting  long  hair  to  the  last  extremity.  Vane,  a  young 
man  of  birth  and  fashion,  continued  for  some  time  a  recusant  against 
the  uncouth  test  of  his  principles,  but  at  last  we  find  a  letter  congrat- 
ulating him  on  having  'glorified  God  by  cutting  his  hair." "' — Hutchin- 
son's Massachusetts,  quoted  by  Murray. 


248  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

banner  of  St.  George,  AA'hich  seriously  disturbed  the  state,* 
and  led  to  violent  writings  and  altercations.  At  length 
Williams  Avas  banished  as  a  distractor  of  the  public  peace, 
but  a  popular  uproar  attended  his  departure,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  inliabitants  were  with  difficulty  dissuaded  from 
following  him.  He  retired  to  Providence,  Rhode  Island  f 
[1636],  where  a  little  colony  soon  settled  round  him,  and 
he  there  lived  and  died  in  general  esteem  and  regard. t 

The  Antinomian  sect  shortly  after  excited  a  still  more 
dangerous  commotion  in  the  colony.  [1637.]  Mrs.  Hutch- 
inson, a  Lincolnshire  lady  of  great  zeal  and  determination, 
joined  by  nearly  the  whole  female  population,  adopted  these 
views  in  the  strongest  manner.  The  ministers  of  the  chui'ch, 
although  decided  Calvinists,  and  firmly  opposed  to  the  Romish 
doctrines  of  salvation  by  works,  earnestly  pressed  the  reform- 
ation of  heart  and  conduct  as  a  test  of  religion.  Mrs. 
Hutchinson  and  her  followers  held  that  to  inculcate  any  rule 
of  life  or  manners  was  a  crime  against  the-  Holy  Spirit ;  in 
their  actual  deportment,  however,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
their  bitterest  enemies  could  not  find  grounds  of  censure. 
With  the  powerful  advocacy  of  female  zeal,  these  doctrines 
spread  rapidly,  and  the  whole  colony  was  soon  divided  be- 
tween "  the  covenant  of  works  and  the  covenant  of  grace  ;" 
the  ardor  and  obstinacy  of  the  disputants  being  by  no  means 
proportioned  to  their  full  understanding  of  the  point  s^  in  dis- 
pute.     Sir  Harry  Vane,  ||   whose  rank  and  character   had 

*  One  of  Williams's  disciples,  who  held  some  command,  cut  the 
cross  out.  and  trampled  it  under  foot.  This  red  cross  had  nearly  sub- 
verted the  colony.  One  part  of  the  trained  bands  would  not  march 
with,  another  would  not  march  without  it. — IMather,  Neale,  &c., 
quoted  by  Murray. 

t  "  The  town  of  Providence,  now  the  capital  of  Rhode  Island,  was 
founded  by  Williams.  The  Indian  name  was  ^looshausick,  but  he 
changed  it  to  Providence  in  commemoration  of  his  wonderful  escape 
from  persecution. — Arfwedson,  vol.  i.,  p.  224. 

t  Mather,  vol.  vii.,  eh.  ii. ;  Neale,  ch.  i.,  p.  138;  Hutchinson,  p. 
37,  39.  §   Ibid. 

II  "  Mr.  Controller,  Sir  Harry  Vano's  oldest  son,  hath  left  his  father, 
his  mother,  his  country,  and  that  fortune  which  his  father  would  have 
left  him  here,  and  is  for  conscience"  sake  gone  into  New  England, 
there  to  lead  the  rest  of  his  days,  being  about  twenty  years  of  age. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  249 

caused  him  to  be  elected  governor  in  spite  of  his  youth, 
zealously  adopted  Antinomian  opinions,  and,  in  consequence, 
was  ejected  from  office  by  the  opposite  party  at  the  ensuing 
election,  Mrs.  Hutchinson  having  failed  to  secure  in  the 
country  districts  that  superiority  which  she  possessed  in  the 
town  of  Boston.*     After  some  ineffectual  efforts  to  reconcile 

He  had  abstained  two  years  from  taking  the  sacrament  in  England, 
because  he  could  get  nobody  to  administer  it  to  him  standing." — 
Strafford  Letters^  September,  1635,  quoted  by  Miss  Aikin,  Life  of 
Charles  /.,  vol.  i.,  p.  479. 

'■  Sir  Harry  Vane  returned  to  England  immediately  after  the  loss 
of  his  election.  His  personal  experience  of  the  uncharitableness  and 
intolerance  exercised  upon  one  another  by  men  who  had  themselves 
been  the  victims  of  a  similar  spirit  at  home,  seems  to  have  produced 
for  some  time  a  tranquilizing  effect  upon  the  mind  of  Vane.  He  was 
reconciled  to  his  father,  married  by  his  direction  a  lady  of  family, 
obtained  the  place  of  joint  treasurer  of  the  navy,  and  exhibited  for 
some  time  no  hostility  to  the  measures  of  the  government.  But  his 
fire  was  smothered  only,  not  extinguished." — Miss  Aikin's  Life  of 
Charles  /.,  vol.  i.,  p.  481. 

"  After  the  Restoration  of  Charles  H.,  Sir  Harry  Vane  suffered 
death  upon  the  block.  (See  Hallam,  vol.  if,  p.  443.)  The  manner 
of  his  death  was  the  admiration  of  his  times." — Bancroft,  vol.  if,  p.  40. 

*  Boston  was  the  capital  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  center  of  the 
most  fervent  Puritanism. 

"  Boston  may  be  ranked  as  the  seat  of  the  Unitarians,  as  Baltimore 
is  that  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  Philadelphia  that  of  the  Quakers. 

No  axiom  is  more  applicable  to  the  pensive,  serious,  scrutinizing 

inhabitant  of  the  New  England  States  than  this :  '  What  I  do  not 
understand,  I  reject  as  worthless  and  false;'  »o  said  one  of  the  most 
learned  men  of  Boston  to  me.  '  Why  occupy  the  mind  with  that  which 
is  incomprehensible  ?     Have  we  not  enough  of  that  which  appears 

clear  and  plain  around  us  ?' The  greater  part  of  the  Bostonians, 

including  every  one  of  wealth,  talents,  and  learning,  have  adopted  this 
doctrine." — Arfwedson,  vol.  i.,  p.  179. 

"  In  Boston  all  the  leading  men  are  Unitarians,  a  creed  peculiarly 
acceptable  to  the  pride  and  self-sufficiency  of  our  nature,  asserting,  as 
it  does,  the  independence  and  perfectibility  of  man,  and  denying  the 
necessity  of  atonement  or  sanclification  by  supernatural  influences. 

"Though  every  where  in  New  England  the  greatest  possible 
decency  and  respect  with  regard  to  morals  and  religion  is  still  ob- 
served, I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  do  not  think  the  New 
Englanders  a  religious  people.  The  assertion,  I  know,  is  paradoxical, 
but  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  is,  if  a  .strong  and  earnest  belief  be  a 
necessary  element  in  a  religious  character :  to  me  it  seems  to  be  its 
very  essence  and  foundation.     I  am  not  now  .speaking  of  belief  in  the 

L* 


250  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  seceders  to  the  Church,  the  new  governor  and  the  min- 
isters summoned  a  general  synod  of  the  colonial  clergy  to 
meet  at  Cambridge,  where,  after  some  very  turbulent  pro- 
ceedings, the  whole  of  the  Antinomian  doctrines  were  con- 
demned. 

As  might  have  been  supposed,  this  condemnation  had  but 
little  effect.  The  obnoxious  principles  Avere  preached  as 
widely  and  zealously  as  before,  till  the  civil  authority  resorted 
to  the  rude  argument  of  force,  banished  Mr.  Wheelwright, 
one  of  the  leaders,  with  two  of  his  followers,  from  the  colony, 
and  fined  and  disfranchised  others.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  was 
ultimately  accused,  condemned,  and  ordered  to  leave  the 
colony  in  six  months.  Although  she  made  a  sort  of  recant- 
ation of  her  errors,  her  inexorable  judges  insisted  in  carrying 
out  the  sentence.*  The  unhappy  lady  removed  to  Rhode 
Island,  where  her  husband,  through  her  influence,  was  elected 
governor,  and  where  she  was  followed  by  many  of  her  devoted 
adherents.  [1G38.]  Thus  the  persecutions  in  the  old  settle- 
ment of  Massachusetts  had  the  same  effect  as  those  in  England 
— of  elevating:  a  few  stubborn  recusants  into  the  founders  of 


truth,  but  belief  in  something  or  any  thing  which  is  removed  from  the 
action  of  the  senses I  am  not  trusting  to  my  own  hmited  ob- 
servation in  arriving  at  this  conclusion  ;  I  find  in  31.  de  Tocqueville's 
work  an  assertion  of  the  same  fact.  He  accounts  for  it,  indeed,  in  a 
different  way What  I  complain  of  is,  not  the  absence  of  nom- 
inal, but  of  real,  heartfelt,  unearthl)'  religion,  such  as  led  the  Puritan 
Nonconformists  to  sacrifice  country  and  kindred,  and  brave  the  dangers 
of  the  ocean  and  the  wilderness  for  the  sake  of  what  they  believed 
God's  truth.  In  my  opinion,  those  men  were  prejudiced  and  mistaken, 
and  committed  great  and  grievous  faults ;  but  there  was,  at  least,  a 
redeeming  element  in  their  character — that  of  high  conscientiousness. 
There  was  no  compromise  of  truth,  no  sacrifice  to  expediency  about 
them ;  they  believed  in  the  invisible,  and  they  acted  on  that  belief. 
Every  where  the  tone  of  religious  feeling,  since  that  time,  has  been 
altered  and  relaxed,  but  perhaps  nowhere  so  much  as  in  the  land 
where  the  descendants  of  those  Pilgrims  lived.'" — Godley's  Letters 
from  America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  90,  133. 

*  "  The  arbitrary  will  of  tlie  single  tyrant,  the  excesses  of  the  pre- 
rogative, seem  light  when  compared  with  their  (the  Puritans')  more 
intolerant,  more  arbitrarj-,  and  more  absolute  power." — Commentaries 
on  the  Life  and  Reign  of  Charles  /.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  28,  by  I.  D' Israeli. 
London,  1830. 


THK    CONaiTEST    OF    C.-WADA.  251 

states  and  nations.  After  her  husband's  death  Mrs.  Hutchin- 
son removed  into  a  neighboring  Dutch  settlement,  where 
she  and  all  her  family  met  with  a  dreadful  fate  ;  they  were 
surprised  by  the  Indians,  and  every  one  destroyed.    [1643.] 

Although  by  these  violent  and  unjust  punishments,  and  by 
disarming  the  disafiected,  the  Antinomian  spirit  was  for  a 
time  put  down,  unity  was  by  no  means  restored.  Pride  and 
the  love  of  novelty  continually  gave  birth  to  new  sects. 
Ministers,  who  had  possessed  the  highest  reputation  in  Eng- 
gland,  saw  with  sorrow  that  their  colonial  churches  were 
neglected  for  the  sake  of  ignorant  and  mischievous  enthusiasts. 
Even  common  profligates  and  rogues,  when  other  lesser  vil- 
lainies had  failed,  assumed  the  hypocritical  semblance  of  some 
peculiar  religion,  and  enjoyed  their  day  of  popularity. 

The  Anabaptists  next  carried  away  the  fickle  affections 
of  the  multitude,  and  excited  the  enmity  of  their  rulers. 
[1643.]  This  schism  first  became  perceptible  by  people 
leaving  the  church  when  the  rites  of  baptism  were  being 
administered  ;  but  at  length  private  meetings  for  worship 
were  held,  attended  by  large  congregations.  The  magistrates, 
as  usual,  practiced  great  severities  against  these  seceders,  first 
by  fine,  imprisonment,  and  even  whipping ;  finally  by  banish- 
ment. The  Anabaptists  were,  however,  not  put  down  by 
the  arm  of  power,  but  were  speedily  forgotten  in  the  sudden 
appearance  of  a  stranger  sect  than  any  that  had  hitherto 
appeared  even  in  New  England. 

The  people  called  Quakers  had  lately  made  their  appear- 
ance in  the  north  of  England.  [1648.]  They  soon  found 
their  way  to  America,  where  they  were  received  with  bitter 
hostility  from  the  commencement.  [1656.]  The  dangerous 
enthusiasts  who  first  went  forth  to  preach  the  doctrines  of 
this  strange  sect  were  very  different  men  from  those  who 
now  command  the  respect  and  good  will  of  all  classes  by 
their  industry,  benevolence,  and  love  of  order.  The  original 
propagandists  believed  that  the  divine  government  was  still 
administered  on  earth  by  direct  and  special  communication, 
as  in  the  times  chronicled  by  Holy  Writ ;  they  therefore 
despised  and  disregarded  all  human  authorities.  To  actual 
force,  indeed,  they  only  opposed   a  passive  resistance  ;    and 


252  THE  CONaUKST  OF  CANADA. 

their  patience  and  obstinacy  in  carrying  out  this  principle 
must  excite  astonishment,  if  not  admiration.  But  their 
language  was  most  violent  and  abusive  against  all  priests 
and  ministers,  governors  and  magistrates.*  The  women  of 
this  novel  persuasion  were  even  more  fanatic  than  the  men. 
Several  leaving  their  husbands  and  children  in  England, 
crossed  the  seas  to  bear  witness  to  their  inspiration  at  Boston. 
They  were,  however,  rudely  received,  their  books  burned,  and 
themselves  either  imprisoned  or  scourged  and  banished.  No- 
wise intimidated  by  these  severities,  several  other  women 
brought  upon  themselves  the  vengeance  of  the  law  by  frantic 
and  almost  incredible  demonstrations  ;  and  a  man  named 
Faubord  endeavored  to  sacrifice  his  first-born  son  under  a 
supposed  command  from  Heaven. 

The  ministers  and  magistrates  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  colony  could  never  enjoy  peace  while  the  Quakers  con- 
tinued among  them.  These  sectarians  were  altogether  un- 
manageable by  the  means  of  ordinary  power  or  reason ;  they 
would  neither  pay  fines  nor  work  in  prison,  nor,  when  liber- 
ated, promise  to  amend  their  conduct.  The  government 
now  enacted  still  more  violent  laws  against  them,  one, 
among  others,  rendering  them  liable  to  have  their  ears  cut 
off  for  obstinacy  ;  and  yet  this  strange  fanaticism  increased 
from  day  to  day.  At  length  the  Quakers  were  banished 
from  the  colony,  under  the  threat  of  death  in  case  of  return. 

*  Mather  affirms  that  the  Quakers  used  to  go  about  saying,  "  We 
deny  thy  Christ:  we  deny  thy  God,  whom  thou  callest  Father,  Son, 
and  Spirit ;  thy  Bible  is  the  word  of  the  devil."'  They  used  to  rise  up 
suddenly  in  the  midst  of  a  sermon,  and  call  upon  the  preacher  to  cease 
his  abomination.  One  writer  says,  "  For  hellish  reviling  of  the  pain- 
ful ministers  of  Christ,  I  know  no  people  can  match  them."  The  fol- 
lowing epithets  bestowed  by  Fisher  on  Dr.  Owen  are  said  to  be  fair 
specimens  of  their  usual  addresses  :  "  Thou  green-headed  trumpeter  ! 
thou  hedgehog  and  grinning  dog  !  thou  linker !  thou  lizard  !  thou 
whirligig!  thou  firebrand!  thou  louse!  thou  mooncalf!  thou  ragged 
tatterdemalion  !  thou  livest  in  philosophy  and  logic,  which  are  of  tho 
devil."  Even  Penn  is  said  to  have  addressed  the  same  respected  divine 
as,  "  Thou  bane  of  reason  and  beast  of  the  earth."  When  the  governor 
or  any  magistrate  came  in  sight,  they  would  call  out,  "  Woe  to  thee, 
thou  oppressor,"  and  in  the  language  of  Scripture  prophecy  would  an- 
nounce the  judgments  that  were  about  to  fall  u[ion  their  head. — Neale, 
cap.  i.,  p.  341-3-15.    Mather,  b.  vii.,  cap.  iv.    Hutchinson,  p.  196-205. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  253 

They  were,  however,  scarcely  beyond  the  borders  when  a 
supposed  inspiration  prompted  them  to  retrace  their  steps  to 
Boston  :  scarcely  had  their  absence  been  observed,  when  their 
solemn  voices  were  again  heard  denouncing  the  city  of  their 
persecutors. 

The  horrible  law  decreeing  the  punishment  of  death  against 
the  Quakers  had  only  been  carried  by  a  majority  of  thirteen 
to  twelve  in  the  Colonial  Court  of  Deputies,  and  after  a 
strong  opposition  ;  but,  to  the  eternal  disgrace  of  the  local 
government,  its  atrocious  provisions  were  carried  into  efiect, 
and  four  of  the  unhappy  fanatics  were  judicially  murdered. 
The  tidings  of  these  executions  filled  England  with  horror. 
Even  Charles  II.  was  moved  to  interpose  the  royal  power  for 
the  protection  of  at  least  the  lives  of  the  obnoxious  sectarians. 
He  issued  a  warrant  on  the  9th  of  September,  1661,  absolutely 
prohibiting  the  punishment  of  death  against  Quakers,  and  di- 
recting that  they  should  be  sent  to  England  for  trial.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  interference,  no  more  executions  took  place, 
but  other  penalties  were  continued  with  unabated  severity. 

While  the  persecution  of  the  Quakers  and  Anabaptists 
raged  in  New  England,  an  important  addition  to  the  numbers 
of  the  colonists  was  gained,  a  large  body  of  Nonconformists 
having  fled  across  the  Atlantic  from  a  fresh  assault  com- 
menced against  their  liberties  by  Charles  II.  This  Puritan 
emigration  was  regarded  with  great  displeasure  by  the  king. 
He  speedily  took  an  opportunity  of  arbitrarily  depriving  the 
colony  of  its  charter,  and  sent  out  Sir  Edmund  Andros  to 
administrate  as  absolute  governor.  The  country  soon  felt 
painfully  the  despotic  tyranny  of  their  new  ruler  ;  and  the 
establishment  of  an  English  Church,  with  the  usual  ritual, 
spread  general  consternation.  When  James  ascended  the 
throne,  a  proclamation  of  tolerance  somewhat  allayed  the 
fears  of  the  settlers  ;  but  the  administration  of  temporal 
affairs  became  ruinously  oppressive.  On  the  pretense  that 
the  titles  of  all  land  obtained  under  the  old  charter  had  be- 
come void  by  its  abrogation,  new  and  exorbitant  fees  were 
exacted,  heavy  and  injudicious  taxes  arbitrarily  imposed,  and 
all  right  of  representation  denied  to  the  colonists.  At  length, 
in  the  year   1689,  a  man,  named  Winslow,  brought  from 


254  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

Virginia  the  joyful  news  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  proclama- 
tion ;  he  \vas  immediately  arrested  for  treason  ;  but  the 
people  rose  tumultuously,  imprisoned  the  governor,  and  re- 
established the  authority  of  their  old  magistrates.  On  the 
26th  of  May,  a  vessel  arrived  with  the  intelligence  that  Will- 
iam and  Mary  had  been  proclaimed  in  England.  Although 
the  new  monarch  declared  himself  favorably  disposed  toward 
the  colonists,  he  did  not  restore  their  beloved  charter.  He, 
however,  granted  them  a  Constitution  nearly  similar  to  that 
of  the  mother  country,  which  rendered  the  people  of  New 
England  tolerably  contented. 

The  colony  was  now  fated  to  suffer  from  a  delusion  more 
frantic  and  insane  than  any  it  had  hitherto  admitted,  and 
which  compromised  its  very  existence.  The  New  Englanders 
had  brought  with  them  the  belief  in  witchcraft  prevalent 
among  the  early  reformers,  and  the  wild  and  savage  wilder- 
ness where  their  lot  was  now  cast  tended  to  deepen  the  im- 
pressions of  superstition  upon  their  minds.  Two  young  girls, 
of  the  family  of  Mr.  Paris,  minister  of  Salem,  were  suddenly 
afflicted  with  a  singular  complaint,  probably  of  an  hysterical 
character,  which  baffled  the  united  skill  of  the  neighboring 
physicians  ;  till  one,  more  decided  than  the  rest,  declared 
that  the  sufferers  were  bewitched.  From  this  time  prayers 
and  fasting  were  the  remedies  adopted,  and  the  whole  town 
of  Salem  at  length  joined  in  a  day  of  humiliation.  The 
patients,  however,  did  not  improve,  till  an  Indian  serving- 
woman  denounced  another,  named  Tituba,  as  the  author  of 
the  evil.  Mr.  Paris  assailed  the  accused,  and  tortured  her 
in  the  view  of  extracting  a  confession  of  guilt,  which  she  at 
length  made,  with  many  absurd  particulars,  hoping  to  appease 
her  persecutor.  From  this  time  the  mischievous  folly  spread 
wider  ;  a  respectable  clergyman,  Mr.  Burroughs,  was  tried 
for  witchcraft  on  the  evidence  of  five  women,  and  condemned 
to  death,  his  only  defense  being  that  he  was  accused  of  that 
which  had  no  existence,  and  was  impossible.  New  charges 
muUiplIed  daily  ;  the  jails  of  Salem  were  full  of  the  accused, 
and  prisoners  were  transferred  to  other  towns,  where  the  silly 
'infection  spread,  and  filled  the  whole  colony  with  alarm. 

Nothing  could   afford   stronger  proof  of  the  hold  which 


THE  CONaUEHT  OF  CANADA.  255 

this  sad  delusion  had  taken  of  the  popular  mind  than  the 
readiness  so  constantly  displayed  by  the  accused  to  confess 
the  monstrous  imputation,  whose  punishment  was  infamy 
and  death.  Many  detailed  long  consultations  held  with 
Satan  for  the  purpose  of  overthrowing  the  kingdom  of  heav- 
en. In  some  cases  these  confessions  were  the  result  of  dis- 
tempered understandings ;  but,  generally,  they  may  be  at- 
tributed to  the  hope  of  respite  and  ultimate  reprieve,  as 
none  but  the  supposed  impenitent  sorcerers  were  executed. 
Thus  only  the  truthful  and  conscientious  suffered  from  the 
effects  of  this  odious  insanity.  Some  among  the  wretched 
people  who  had  confessed  witchcraft  showed  a  subsequent 
disposition  to  retract.  A  man  named  Samuel  Wardmell, 
having  solemnly  recanted  his  former  statement,  was  tried, 
condemned,  and  executed.  Despite  this  terrible  warning,  a 
few  others  followed  the  conscientious  but  fatal  example. 
Every  one  of  the  sufferers  during  this  dreadful  period  pro- 
tested their  innocence  to  the  last.  It  seems  difRcult  to  dis- 
cover any  adequate  motives  for  these  atrocious  and  constant 
accusations.  There  is  too  much  reason  to  believe  that  the 
confiscation  of  the  condemned  persons'  property,  malice 
against  the  accused,  a  desire  to  excite  the  public  mind,  and 
gain  the  notice  and  favor  of  those  in  power,  were  generally 
the  objects  of  the  witnesses. 

The  evil  at  length  attained  such  a  frightful  magnitude 
that  the  firmest  believers  in  witchcraft  began  to  waver.  In 
two  months  nineteen  unhappy  victims  had  been  executed, 
eight  more  remained  under  sentence  of  death,  150  accused 
were  still  in  prison,  and  there  was  no  more  room  for  the 
crowds  daily  brought  in.  No  character  or  position  was  a 
shield  against  these  absurd  imputations ;  all  lay  at  the  mer- 
cy of  a  few  mad  or  malignant  beings.  The  first  mitigation 
of  the  mischief  was  effected  by  the  governor  assembling  the 
ministers  to  discuss  whether  what  was  called  specter  evi- 
dence should  be  held  sufficient  for  the  condemnation  of  the 
accused.  The  as.sembly  decided  against  that  particular  sort 
of  evidence  being  conclusive  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  exhort- 
ed the  governor  to  persevere  in  the  vigorous  prosecution  of 
witchcraft,  "according  to  the  wholesome  statutes  of  the  En- 


256  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

glisli  nation."  *  Public  opinion,  however,  soon  began  to  ran 
strongly  against  those  proceedings,  and  finally  the  governor 
took  the  bold  step  of  pardoning  all  these  under  sentence  for 
witchcraft,  throwing  open  all  the  prisons,  and  turning  a  deaf 
ear  to  every  accusation  (January,  1693).  From  that  time 
the  troubles  of  the  afflicted  were  heard  of  no  more.  Those 
who  had  confessed  came  forward  to  retract  or  disclaim  their 
former  statements,  and  the  most  active  judges  and  persecu- 
tors publicly  expressed  contrition  for  the  part  they  had  taken 
in  the  fatal  and  almost  incredible  insanity.  In  the  reaction 
that  ensued,  many  urged  strict  inquiry  into  the  fearful  prej- 
udices that  had  sacrificed  innocent  lives ;  but  so  general 
had  been  the  crime,  that  it  was  deemed  wisest  to  throw  a 
vail  of  oblivion  over  the  whole  dreadful  scene. f 

*  "Sir  Matthew  Hale  burned  two  persons  for  witchcraft  in  1664. 
Three  thousand  were  executed  in  England  during  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment. Two  pretended  witches  were  execitted  at  Northampton  in 
1705.  In  1716,  Mrs.  Hicks  and  her  daughter,  aged  nine,  were 
hanged  at  Huntingdon.  The  last  suflerer  in  Scotland  was  in  1722, 
at  Dornoch.  The  laws  against  witchcraft  had  lain  dormant  for  many 
years,  when  an  ignorant  person  attempting  to  revive  them  by  finding  a 
bill  against  a  poor  old  woman  in  Surrey  for  the  practice  of  witchcraft, 
they  were  repealed.  10  George  II.,  1736." — Viner's  Abridgment . 

t  Neale,  vol.  ii.,  p.  164-170.     Mather,  vol.  ii.,  p.  62-64. 

Arfwedson  says,  "  Close  to  the  town  of  Salem  is  Beverley,  a  small, 
insignifi(?ant  place,  remarkable  only  in  the  annals  of  history  as  having 
formerly  contained  a  superstitious  population.  JTany  lives  have  here 
been  cruelly  sacrificed,  and  the  barren  hill  is  still  in  existence  where 
persons  accused  of  witchcraft  were  hung  upon  tall  trees.  Tradition 
points  out  the  place  where  the  witches  of  old  resided.  Cotton  Mather 
records  in  a  work,  truly  original  for  that  age,  that  the  good  people 
who  lived  near  Massachusetts  Bay  were  every  night  roused  from  their 
slumbers  by  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  summoning  all  the  witches  and 
demons.'" — Cotton  ^Mather's  Magnalia  ;  Ai-fwedson,  vol.  i.,  p.  186. 

"  And  thrice  that  night  the  trumpet  rang, 

And  rock  and  hill  replied  ; 
And  down  the  glen  strange  shadows  sprang — 
Mortal  and  fiend — a  wizard  gang. 

Seen  dimly,  side  by  side. 

"  They  gathered  there  from  every  land 
That  slecpeth  in  the  sun  ; 
They  came  with  spell  and  charm  in  hand, 
Wailinif  thfir  master's  high  command — 
Slaves  to  the  Evil  One." — Lrgrnda  of  New  England. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  25T 

While  the  settlers  of  New  England  were  distracted  by 
their  own  madness  and  intolerance,  they  had  to  contend 
with  great  external  difficulties  from  the  animosity  of  the 
Indians.  The  native  races  in  this  part  of  the  contineni 
appear  to  have  been  in  some  respects  superior  to  those  dwell- 
ing by  the  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Great  Lake. 
They  acknowledged  the  absolute  power  of  a  sachem  or  king, 
which  gave  a  dangerous  vigor  and  unity  to  their  actions. 
They  at  first  received  the  English  with  hospitality  and  kind- 
ness, and  the  colonists,  on  their  part,  passed  laws  to  protect 
not  only  the  persons  of  the  natives,  but  to  insure  them  an 
equitable  price  for  their  lands.  The  narrowed  limits  of  their 
hunting-grounds,  however,  and  the  rapid  advance  of  the 
white  men,  soon  began  to  alarm  the  Indians.*  When 
their  jealousy  was  thus  aroused,  occasions  of  quarrel  speed- 
ily presented  themselves  ;  the  baneful  influence  of  strong 
liquors,  largely  furnished  in  spite  of  the  strictest  prohibitions, 
increased  their  excitement.  Some  Englishmen  were  slain ; 
the  murderers  were  seized,  tried,  and  executed  by  the  colo- 
nial government,  according  to  British  law.  These  proceed- 
ings kindled  a  deep  resentment  among  the  savages,  and  led 
to  measures  of  retaliation  at  their  hands. 

It  has  been  an  unfortunate  feature  of  European  settlement 
in  America,  that  the  border  population,  those  most  in  contact 
with  the  natives,  have  been  usually  men  of  wild  and  despe- 
rate character,  the  tainted  foam  of  the  advancing  tide  of  civ- 
ilization. These  reckless  adventurers  were  little  scrupulous 
in  their  dealings  with  the  simple  savage  ;  they  utterly  disre- 
garded those  rights  which  his  weakness  could  not  defend, 
and  by  intolerable  provocation  excited  liim  to  a  bloody  but 
futile  resistance.  The  Indians  naturally  confounded  the 
whole  English  race  with  these  contemptuous  oppressors,  and 
commenced  a  war  that  resulted  in  their  own  extermination. 


*  "During  the  war  with  Philip,  the  Indians  took  some  English 
alive,  and  set  them  upright  in  the  ground,  with  this  sarcasm  :  "  You 
English,  since  you  came  into  this  country,  have  grown  considerably 
above  ground ;  let  us  now  see  how  you  will  grow  when  planted  into 
the  ground.'" — Narrative  of  the  Wars  in  Neiv  England,  1675. — 
Harleian  Miscellany,  vol.  v.,  p.  400. 


258  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

They  did  not  face  the  English  in  the  field,  but  hovered 
round  the  border,  and,  with  sudden  surprise,  overwhelmed 
detached  posts  and  settlements  in  a  horrible  destruction. 
The  astute  colonists  soon  adopted  the  policy  of  forming  al- 
liances, and  taking  advantage  of  ancient  enmities  to  stir  up 
hostilities  among  them.  By  this  means  they  accomplished 
the  destruction  of  the  warlike  Pequods,*  their  bitterest  foes. 
Other  enemies,  however,  soon  came  into  the  field,  and   at 

*  "  The  Pequods  were  a  powerful  nation  on  the  Connecticut  border, 
who  could  muster  a  thousand  warriors.  The  English  might  have 
found  it  difficult  to  withstand  them  but  for  an  alliance  with  the  second 
most  powerful  people,  the  Narragansets,  whose  ancient  enmity  to  the 
Pequods  for  a  time  prevailed  over  their  jealousy  of  the  foreigners. 
But  at  length,  when  the  Pequods  were  nearly  exterminated,  the  Nar- 
ragansets, seeing  the  power  of  the  strangers  paramount,  began  to  side 
with  their  enemies.  The  Indian  chiefs  began  to  imitate  the  English 
mode  of  fighting,  and  even  to  assume  English  names,  with  some  char- 
acteristic epithet.  One-e3'ed  John,  Stone-wall  John,  and  Sagamore 
Sam,  kept  the  colony  in  perpetual  alarm.  But  their  most  deadly 
and  formidable  enemy  was  Philip,  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags.  No 
Indian  was  ever  more  dreaded  by  civilized  man.  A  century  and  a 
half  has  now  elapsed  since  this  hero  of  Pokanoket  fell  a  victim  to  his 
own  race,  but  even  to  this  day  his  name  is  respected,  and  the  last 
object  supposed  to  have  been  touched  by  him  in  his  lifetime  is  con- 
sidered by  every  American  as  a  valuable  relic.  This  extraordinary 
man,  whose  real  name  was  Metacom,  succeeded  his  brother  in  the 
government  of  the  Wampanoags.  The  wrongs  and  grievances  suf- 
fered by  this  brother,  added  to  those  which  he  had  himself  experienced 
from  the  English  colonists,  induced  him  to  engage  in  a  war  against 
them.  The  issue  might,  perhaps,  have  been  less  doubtful,  had  not 
one  of  his  followers  defeated  his  plans  by  a  premature  explosion  be- 
fore he  had  time  to  summon  and  concentrate  his  warriors  and  allies. 
From  this  time  no  smiles  were  seen  on  his  face.  But  though  he  soon 
perceived  {hat  the  great  enterprise  he  had  formed  was  likely  to  be 
frustrated,  he  never  lost  that  elevation  of  soul  which  distinguished  him 
to  the  last  moments  of  his  life.  By  his  exertions  and  energy,  all  the 
Indian  nations  occupying  the  territory  between  Maine  and  the  River 
Connecticut,  a  distance  of  nearly  200  miles,  took  up  arms.  Every 
where  the  name  of  King  Philip  was  the  signal  for  massacre  and 
flames.  But  fraud  and  treason  soon  accomplished  what  open  warfare 
could  not  effect ;  his  followers  gave  way  to  numbers ;  his  nearest  re- 
lations and  friends  forsook  him,  and  a  treacherous  ball  at  last  struck 
his  heart.  His  head  was  carried  round  the  country  in  triumph,  and 
exposed  as  that  of  a  traitor ;  but  posterity  has  done  him  justice.  Pa- 
triotism was  his  only  crime,  and  his  death  was  that  of  a  hero." — 
Arfwedson,  vol,  i.,  p.  229. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  259 

length,  the  original  allies  of  the  English,  jealous  of  the  en- 
croaching power  of  the  white  strangers,  also  took  arms 
against  them.  The  Indian  chiefs,  after  a  time,  began  to 
adopt  European  tactics  of  war,  and  for  many  years  kept  the 
colony  in  alarm  by  their  formidable  attacks  :  they  were, 
however,  finally  driven  altogether  from  the  field. 

The  New  England  settlers  showed  more  sincerity  than 
other  adventurers  in  endeavoring  to  accomplish  their  princi- 
pal professed  object  of  colonization,  that  of  teaching  Chris- 
tianity to  the  Indians.*  They  appointed  zealous  and  jiious 
ministers  for  the  mission,!  and  established  a  seminary  for 

*  "  This  was  not  the  case  in  the  earlier  and  more  northern  settle- 
ments, where  Mather  mentions  a  clergyman  who,  from  the  pulpit, 
alluded  to  this  as  the  main  object  of  his  flock's  coming  out,  when  one 
of  the  principal  members  rose  and  said,  '  Sir,  you  are  mistaken ;  our 
main  object  was  to  catch  fish.'  " — Murray's  America. 

"  To  this  day  the  Council  of  Massachusets,  in  the  impress  of  their 
public  seal,  have  an  Indian  engraven,  with  these  words  :  '  Come  over 
and  help  us,'  alluding  to  Acts,  xv.,  9." — Narrative  of  the  Wars  in 
New  England,  1675.      HarJcian  Miscellany,  vol.  v.,  p.  400. 

t  "  Among  these  was  the  celebrated  Eliot.  Notwithstanding  the 
almost  incredible  hardships  endured  by  Eliot  during  his  missionary 
labors,  he  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-six.  He  expired  in  1690,  and 
has  ever  since  been  known  by  the  well-earned  title  of  Apostle  to  the 
Indians." — Missionary  Records,  p.  34. 

Dr.  Dwight  says  of  him,  "He  was  naturally  qualified  beyond  almost 
any  other  man  for  the  business  of  a  missionary.  In  promoting  among 
the  Indians  agriculture,  health,  morals,  and  religion,  this  great  and 
good  man  labored  with  constancy,  faithfulness,  and  benevolence  which 
place  his  name  not  unworthily  among  those  who  are  arranged  imme- 
diately after  the  apostles  of  our  Divine  Redeemer."  Eliot  translated 
the  Holy  Scriptures  into  the  Indian  language.  In  1661,  the  New 
Testament,  dedicated  to  Charles  II.,  was  printed  at  Cambridge,  in 
New  England,  and  about  three  years  afterward,  it  was  followed  by 
the  Old  Testament.  This  was  the  first  Bible  ever  printed  in  America; 
and,  though  the  impression  consisted  of  2000  copies,  a  second  edition 
was  required  in  1685. — Ibid.,  p.  27. 

"  When  at  Harvard  College,  a  copy  of  the  Bible  was  shown  me  by 
Mr.  Jared  Sparks,  translated  by  the  missionary.  Father  Eliot,  into  the 
Indian  tongue.  It  is  now  a  dead  language,  although  preached  for 
several  generations  to  crowded  congregations." — Lyells  America, 
vol.  i.,  p.  260. 

"  Eliot  had  become  an  acute  grammarian  by  his  studies  at  the 
English  university  of  Cambridge.  Having  finished  his  laborious  and 
diflicult  work,  the  Indian  grammar,  at  the  close  of  it,  under  a  full 


260  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  educaliou  of  the  natives,  whence  some  scholars  were  to 
be  selected  to  preach  the  Gospel  among  their  savage  coun- 
trymen. Great  obstacles  were  encountered  in  this  good 
work ;  the  Indians  showed  a  bigoted  attachment  to  their 
own  strange  religious  conceits,  and  their  priests  and  conjur- 
ers used  all  their  powerful  influence  against  Christianity, 
denouncing  in  furious  terms  all  who  forsook  their  creed  for 
the  English  God.  Despite  these  difficulties,  a  number  of 
savages  were  induced  to  form  themselves  in  villages,  and 
lead  a  civilized*  and  Christian  life,  under  the  guidance  of 

sense  of  the  difficulties  he  had  encountered,  and  the  acquisition  he  had 
made,  he  said,  '  Prayers  and  pains,  through  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  do 
any  thing.'  '' — Life  of  Eliot,  p.  55. 

"  The  Honorable  Robert  Boyle  often  strengthened  Eliot's  hands  and 
encouraged  him  in  his  work — he  who  was  not  more  admirable  among 
philosophers  for  his  discoveries  in  science,  than  he  was  beloved  by  Chris- 
tians for  his  active  kindness  and  his  pious  spirit." — Ibid.,  p.  64. 

"  Xor  was  Eliot  alone.  In  the  islands  round  Massachusetts,  and 
within  the  limits  of  the  Plymonth  patent,  missionary  zeal  and  mis- 
sionary enterprise  were  active;  and  the  gentle  Mayhew,  forgetting 
the  pride  of  learning,  endeavored  to  win  the  natis'es  to  a  new  religion. 
At  a  later  day,  he  took  passage  for  New  England  to  awaken  interest 
there,  and  the  ship  in  which  he  sailed  was  never  more  heard  of. 
But  such  had  been  the  force  of  his  example,  that  his  father,  though 
bowed  down  with  the  weight  of  seventy  years,  resolved  on  assuming 
the  olHoe  of  the  son  whom  he  had  lost,  and  till  beyond  the  age  of 
fourscore  years  and  twelve,  continued  to  instruct  the  natives,  and 
with  the  happiest  results.  The  Indians  within  his  influence,  though 
twenty  limes  more  numerous  than  the  whites  in  their  immediate 
neighborhood,  preserved  an  immutable  friendship  with  JSIassachu- 
setts." — Bancroft's  Hist  of  the  United  Stales,  vol.  ii.,  p.  97.  See 
Missionary  Records ;  Life  of  Eliot ;  Mayhew's  Indian  Converts  ;  T. 
Prince's  Account  of  English  Ministers. 

*  "  History  has  no  example  to  ofier  of  any  successful  attempt,  how- 
ever slight,  to  introduce  civilization  among  savage  tribes  in  colonies 
or  in  their  vicinity,  except  through  the  influence  of  religious  mission- 
aries. This  is  no  question  of  a  balance  of  advantages — no  matter  of 
comparison  between  opposite  systems.  1  repeat  that  no  instance  can 
be  shown  of  the  reclaiming  of  savages  by  any  other  influence  than 
that  of  religion.  There  are  two  obvious  reasons  why  such  should  be 
tlie  case :  the  first,  that  religion  only  can  supply  a  motive  to  the 
governors,  placed  in  obscure  situations,  and  without  the  reach  of  re- 
sponsibility, to  act  with  zeal,  jierscvcranee,  and  charity;  the  other, 
that  it  alone  can  supply  a  motive  to  tiie  governed  to  undergo  that 
alteration  of  habits  tlirongh  which  the  reclaimed  savage  must  pas.s, 


THE  CONaUE.ST  OF  CANADA.  201 

ministers  of  ther  own  race.*  In  a  few  years  thirty  congre- 
gations of  "praying  Indians," t  their  numbers  amounting  to 
3000,  were  estabhshed  in  Massachusetts. 


CHAPTER   XI. 


The  principal  characteristics  of  that  colonization  by  which 
the  vast  republic  of  the  West  was  formed,  have  been  ex- 
hibited in  the  settlement  of  Virginia  and  Massachusetts. 
The  other  states  were  stamped  with  the  impress  of  the  two 
first,  and  in  a  great  measure  peopled  from  them.  Rhode 
Island  and  the  rest  of  the  New  England  states  were  founded 
by  those  who  had  fled  from  the  religious  persecutions  of 
Massachusetts,  with  the  exception  of  Connecticut,  which 
owes  its  origin  chiefly  to  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  the 
search  for  unoccupied  lands.  The  first  settlers  divided  this 
last-named  state  among  themselves  without  the  sanction  of 

and  to  which  the  hope  of  mei'e  temporal  advantage  will  very  rarely 
induce  him  to  consent.  This  position  is  well  stated  in  the  words  of 
Southey  :  '  The  wealth  and  power  of  governments  may  be  vainly  em- 
ployed in  the  endeavor  to  conciliate  and  reclaim  brute  man,  if  religious 
zeal  and  Christian  charity,  in  the  true  import  of  the  word,  be  want- 
ing.' " — Merivale  on  Colonization^  vol.  i.,  p.  289. 

*  "The  attempt  to  organize  an  Indian  priesthood  at  this  psriod 
failed  altogether,  the  converts  possessing  neither  the  steadiness  nor  the 
sobriety  requisite  for  the  holy  oOice.  The  duty,  therefore,  devolved 
upon  European  teachers,  who  in  many  cases  scarcely  obtained  the 
wages  of  a  day  laborer,  and  that  very  precariously.  The  formation, 
however,  of  a  society  in  Entjland  lor  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
this  settlement,  and  pretty  liberal  contributions  raised  in  the  principal 
towns,  in  some  degree  remedied  these  evils.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few 
more  generations,  the  Indian  character,  in  its  slow  but  steady  upward 
progress  under  the  teaching  of  devoted  and  enlightened  Christian  min- 
isters, underwent  a  change  so  effectual,  that  the  native  teachers  and 
preachers  of  the  present  day  may  well  bear  comparison  in  zeal,  piety, 
and  eloquence  with  their  European  colleagues." — Catlin's  American 
Indians  ;   Cotton's  American  Lakes. 

t  "The  Indians  about  this  time  (165.3)  obtained  the  appellation  of 
'Praying  Indians,'  and  the  court  appointed  Major  Daniel  Gookin  their 
ruler." — Life  of  Eliot,  p.  53. 


262  THE  C0NQUE6T  OF  CANADA. 

any  authority,  and  then  proceeded  to  form  a  constitution  of 
unexampled  hberahty.  They  had  to  bear  the  chief  burden 
in  the  Indian  war,  on  account  of  their  advanced  and  ex- 
posed position  ;  but  Connecticut  prospered  in  spite  of  every 
obstacle.  Several  Puritans  of  distinction  sought  its  shore 
from  England.  Charles  II.,  on  his  restoration  granted  a 
most  liberal  charter,  and  it  continued  to  enjoy  the  benefits 
of  complete  self-government  till  Massachusetts  was  deprived 
of  her  charter  by  James  II.,  when  Connecticut  shared  the 
same  fate.  At  the  Revolution,  the  younger  state,  more  for- 
tunate than  her  neighbor,  was  restored  to  all  the  privileges 
formerly  enjoyed. 

The  states  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  were  originally 
founded  on  Loyalist  and  Church  of  England  principles.  Sir 
Ferdinand  Gorges  and  John  Mason,  the  most  energetic  mem- 
ber of  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  undertook  the  colonization 
of  these  districts,  but  their  tyrannical  and  injudicious  conduct 
stunted  the  growth  of  the  infant  colonies,  and  little  progress 
was  made  till  the  religious  dissensions  of  Boston  swelled 
their  population.  Violent  and  even  fatal  dissensions,  how- 
ever, distracted  this  incongruous  community,  till  the  gov- 
ernment of  Massachusetts  assumed  the  sway  over  it,  and 
re-established  order  and  prosperity.  Gorges  and  Mason 
disputed  for  many  years  the  rights  of  authority  with  the 
new  rulers  ;  nor  was  the  question  finally  settled  till  Massa- 
chusetts was  deprived  of  her  charter,  when  a  royal  govern- 
ment was  established  in  New  Hampshire. 

The  important  state  of  New  York  was  founded  under 
very  difierent  auspices  from  tho.se  of  its  neighbors.  In  1609, 
Henry  Hudson,  while  sailing  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company,  discovered  the  magnificent  stream 
which  now  bears  his  name.  A  small  colony  was  soon  sent 
out  from  Holland  *  to  settle  the  new  country,  and  a  trading 

*  "  On  Hiulson'.s  return  according  to  the  English  hi.storians,  he  sold 
his  title  to  the  Dutch." — Briliak  Encyc,  vol.  ii.,  p.  236.  Chalmers 
questions,  apparently  on  good  grounds,  the  validity  of  this  odd  trans- 
action. If,  as  Forsler  asserts,  Hud.son  not  only  sailed  from  the  Texel, 
but  was  equipped  at  the  expense  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company, 
there  was  no  room  for  sale  or  purchase  of  any  kind  to  constitute  the 
region  Dutch. — Chalmers,  vol.  ii.,  p.  568;  Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  221. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  263 

post  established  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Sir  Samuel 
Argall,  governor  of  Virginia,  conceived  that  this  foreign  set- 
tlement trenched  upon  the  rights  granted  by  the  English 
crown  to  its  subjects,  and  by  a  display  of  superior  force  con- 
strained the  Dutch  colony  to  acknowledge  British  sovereign- 
ty [1613]  ;*  but  this  submission  became  a  dead  letter  some 
years  later,  when  large  bodies  of  emigrants  arrived  from  the 
Low  Countries  [1620]  ;t  the  little  trading  post  soon  rose 
into  a  town,  and  a  fort  was  erected  for  its  defense.  The 
site  of  this  establishment  was  on  the  island  of  Manhattan  ;  $ 
the  founders  called  it  New  Amsterdam.  When  it  fell  into 
the  possession  of  England,  the  name  was  changed  to  New 
York.  Albany^  was  next  built,  at  some  distance  up  the 
Hudson,  as  a  post  for  the  Indian  trade,  and  thence  a  com- 
munication was  opened  for  the  first  time  with  the  Northern 
Indian  confederacy  of  the  Iroquois,  or  the  Five  Nations. 

Charles  II.,  from  hatred  to  the  Dutch,  as  well  as  from 
the  desire  of  aggrandizement,  renewed  the  claims  of  England 

*  "  The  English  jurists,  referring  to  the  wide  grants  ol'  Elizabeth, 
according  to  which  Virginia  extended  far  to  the  north  of  this  region, 
insist  that  there  had  long  ceased  to  be  room  for  any  claim  to  it  founded 
on  discovery.  But  the  Dutch,  who  are  somewhat  slow  in  comprehen- 
sion, could  not  see  the  right  which  Elizabeth  could  have  to  bestow  a 
vast  region,  of  the  very  existence  of  which  she  was  ignorant.  They 
therefore  sent  out  the  small  colony,  1613,  which  was  soon  after  com- 
pelled by  Argall  to  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  England." — 
Murray's  America,  vol.  i.,  p.  331  ;   Pastes  Chronologiqucs,  1613. 

t  The  Dutch  West  Indian  Company  was  established  in  1620,  and 
sent  out  colonists  on  a  large  scale. 

{  "  Juet,  the  traveling  companion  of  Hudson,  called  the  island  on 
which  New  York  is  situated  INIanna  Hatta,  which  means  the  island 
of  manna ;  in  other  words,  a  country  where  milk  and  honey  flow. 
The  name  Manhattoes  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  great  Indian 
god  Manetho,  who  is  stated  to  have  made  this  island  his  favorite 
place  of  residence  on  account  of  its  peculiar  attractions." — Knicker- 
bockers New  York,  vol.  v.,  p.  1. 

§  "  Albany  bore  the  name  of  Orange  when  it  was  originally  founded 
by  the  Dutch ;  and  as  a  great  number  of  this  people  remained  in  the 
city  after  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  England,  they  continued  to 
call  it  Orange,  and  the  French  Canadians  give  it  no  other  name." — 
Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  222. 

"  Albany  received  that  name  from  the  Scottish  title  of  the  Duke  of 
York." — Bancroft. 


264  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

upon  the  Hudson  settlements,  and  in  1664  dispatched  an 
armament  of  300  men  to  enforce  this  claim.  Stuyvesant, 
the  Dutch  governor,*  was  totally  unprepared  to  resist  the 
threatened  attack,  and  after  a  short  parley  agreed  to  sur- 
render. The  settlers  were,  however,  secured  in  property 
and  person,  and  in  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  and 
the  greater  part  remained  under  their  new  rulers.  In  the 
long  naval  war  subsequently  carried  on  between  England 
and  Holland,  the  colony  again  passed  for  a  time  under  the 
sway  of  the  Dutch,  but  at  the  peace  was  finally  restored  to 
Great  Britain.  James,  then  Duke  of  York,  had  received 
from  his  brother  a  grant  of  the  district  which  now  consti- 
tutes the  State  of  New  York.  On  assuming  authority,  he 
appointed  governors  with  arbitrary  power,  but  the  colonists 
in  assertion  of  their  rights  as  Englishmen,  stoutly  resisted, 
and  even  sent  home  Dyer,  the  collector  of  customs,  under  a 
charge  of  high  treason,  for  attempting  to  levy  taxes  without 
legal  authority.    [1681.]      The  duke  judged  it  expedient  to 

*  Nine  years  before  (1655),  Stuyvesant  had  attacked  the  happy  and 
contented  Httle  colony  of  Swedes  who  were  settled  on  the  banks  of 
the  Delaware,  and  after  a  sanguinary  contest,  the  Swedish  governor, 
John  Rising,  was  oblirred  to  submit  to  the  Dutch  authority.  Such 
was  the  end  of  New  Sweden,  which  had  only  maintained  an  inde- 
pendent existence  for  seventeen  years.  Thus  the  Swedish  settlements 
pa.ssed  into  the  hands  of  the  English  at  the  same  time  as  those  of 
the  Dutch.  The  first  Swedish  colonization  had  been  projected  and 
encouraged  by  the  great  Gustavus  Adolphus  in  1638.  They  gave 
their  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  the  name  of  the  Land 
of  Canaan,  and  to  the  spot  where  they  first  landed  that  of  Canaan,  so 
inviting  and  delightful  did  this  part  of  the  New  World  first  aj)pear  to 
them.  The  only  thing  now  known  of  this  terrestrial  paradise  is,  that 
its  situation  was  near  Cape  Henlopcn,  a  short  distance  from  the  sea. 
The  colonists  purchased  tracts  of  lands  of  the  Indians,  and  threw  up  a 
few  fortifications ;  of  the  city  they  founded,  Christina,  there  is  now  no 
trace.  It  w.as  situated  near  Wilmington,  twenty-seven  miles  south 
of  Philadelphia.  The  Dutch,  whose  principal  city  was  then  New 
Amsterdam,  pretended  that  the  country  round  the  Dcla\varc  belonged 
to  them,  having  paid  it  a  visit  before  the  arrival  of  the  Swedes.  This 
insinuation,  moreover,  did  not  prevent  the  latter  from  settling,  and, 
according  to  Charlevoix,  the  two  nations  lived  in  amity  with  each 
other  until  Stuyvesant's  af^gression,  the  Dutch  being  wholly  devoted 
to  commerce  and  the  Swedes  to  agriculture.  The  Swedish  settlement 
was  at  first  called  New  Sweden,  afterward  New  Jersev. 


THE    CONUL'EtJT    OF    CANADA.  265 

conciliate  his  sturdy  transatlantic  subjects,  and  yielded  tliom 
a  certain  form  of  representative  government.  In  1G82, 
Mr.  .Dongan  was  sent  out  with  a  commission  to  assemble  a 
council  of  ten,  and  a  house  of  assembly  of  eighteen  popular 
deputies.  The  new  governor  soon  rendered  himself  beloved 
and  respected  by  all,  although  at  first  distrusted  and  dis- 
liked, as  professing  the  Romish  faith.  New  York  was  not 
allowed  to  enjoy  these  fortunate  circumstances  for  any  length 
of  time  ;  the  capricious  and  arbitrary  duke,  on  his  accession 
to  the  crown,  abrogated  the  colonial  constitution  ;  shortly 
afterward  the  state  was  annexed  to  Massachusetts,  the  be- 
loved governor  recalled,  and  the  despotic  Andros  established 
in  his  stead.  [1686.]  At  the  first  rumor  of  the  Revolution 
of  1688,  the  inhabitants,  led  by  a  merchant  of  the  name  of 
Leisler,  rose  in  arms,  proclaimed  William  and  Mary,  and 
elected  a  house  of  representatives.  The  new  monarch  sent 
out  a  Colonel  Slaughter  as  governor,  whose  authority  was  dis- 
puted by  Leisler ;  however,  the  bold  merchant  was  soon  over- 
come, and  with  quick  severity  tried  and  executed.  [1691.] 
The  English  Parliament,  more  considerate  of  his  useful 
services,  subsequently  reversed  his  attainder,  and  restored 
the  forfeited  estates  to  his  family.  [1695.]  With  the  view 
of  aiding  the  resources  and  progress  of  the  colony,  3000 
German  Protestants,  called  Palatines,  were  subsequently 
conveyed  to  the  banks  of  the  Pludson,  and  subsisted  for 
three  years,  at  a  great  expense,  by  England.  These  sober 
and  industrious  men  proved  a  most  valuable  addition  to  the 
population.* 

New  Jersey  was  formed  from  a  part  of  the  original  terri- 
tory of  New  York.  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret 
were  the  proprietors,  by  grant  from  James   [1664]  :   they 

*  ''The  entire  cost  of  this  transiiortalioii  amounted  to  .i'78,oo3, 
which,  amid  the  ferments  of  party,  was  declared  by  a  subsequent 
vote  of  Parliament  to  be  not  only  an  extravagant  and  unreasonable 
oharsre  to  the  kingdom,  but  of  dangerous  consequence  to  the  Church." 
—Brit.  Emp.  Jlmcr.,  vol.  i.,  p.  249,  250. 

"Swabia,  with  the  old  Palatinate,  has  contributed  very  largely  to 
(he  present  population  of  America.      From  the  end  of  Queen  Anne's 
reign  to  1753,  it  is  said  that  from  4  to  8000  went  annually  to  Penn- 
sylvania alone.'" — Sadler,  b.  iv.,  cap.  v. 
VOL.  I — M 


266  THE    CONUUEriT    OF    CANADA. 

founded  the  new  state  with  great  judgment  and  liberality, 
establishing  the  power  ol'  sell-government  and  taxation.  The 
Duke  of  York,  however,  on  the  rcconquest  of  the  country 
from  the  Dutch,  took  the  opportunity  of  abrogating  the 
Constitution  :  the  colonists  boldly  appealed  against  this  tyr- 
anny, and  with  such  force,  that  the  duke  was  led  to  refer 
the  question  to  the  judgment  of  the  learned  and  upright  Sir 
William  Jones,  who  gave  it  against  him.  [1681.]  James 
was  obliged  to  acquiesce  in  this  decision  till  he  ascended  the 
throne,  when  he  swept  away  all  the  rights  of  the  colony,  and 
annexed  it,  like  its  neighbors,  to  the  government  of  Massa- 
chusetts. After  the  accession  of  William,  New  Jersey  was 
entangled  for  ten  years  in  a  web  of  conflicting  claims  but 
was  finally  established  under  its  own  independent  Legislature. 

The  State  of  JMarylaud  was  so  named  in  honor  of  Hen- 
rietta Maria,  the  beautiful  queen  of  Charles  I.,  to  whose 
influence  the  early  settlers  were  nmch  indebted.  Religious 
persecution  in  England  drove  ibrth  the  founders  of  the  colony  ; 
but  in  this  case  the  Protestants  were  the  instigators,  and  the 
cruel  laws  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  against  the  Roman 
Catholics  were  the  instruments.  Lord  Baltimore,  an  L'ish 
peer,  and  other  men  of  distinction  in  the  popish  body,  obtained 
from  Charles  I.,  as  an  asylum  in  the  New  W^orld,  a  grant 
of  that  angle  of  Virginia  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  River 
Chesapeake,  a  district  rich  in  soil,  genial  in  climate,  and 
admirably  situated  for  commerce.  An  expedition  of  200 
Roman  Catholics,  many  among  them  men  of  good  birth,  was 
sent  under  Mr.  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore's  brother,  to  take 
possession  of  this  favored  tract.  [1634.]  Their  first  care 
was  to  conciliate  the  Indians,  in  which  they  eminently  suc- 
ceeded. The  natives  were  even  prevailed  upon  to  abandon 
their  village  and  their  cleared  lands  around  to  the  strangers, 
and  to  remove  themselves  contentedly  to  another  situation. 

Maryland  was  most  honorably  distinguished  in  the  earliest 
times  by  perfect  freedom  of  religious  opinion.  Many  members 
of  the  Church  of  England,  as  well  as  Roman  Catholics,  fled 
thither  from  the  persecutions  of  the  Puritans.  The  Baltimore 
family  at  first  displayed  great  liberality  and  judgment  in  their 
rule  ;   but,  as  they  gained  confidence  from  the  secret  support 


THE  CONdUEST  Ol"  CANADA.  267 

of  the  king  to  their  cherished  faith,  their  wise  moderation 
seems  to  have  diminished.  However,  the  principal  grievance 
brought  against  them  was,  that  they  had  not  provided  by 
pubUc  funds  for  Church  of  England  clergymen  as  fully 
as  for  those  of  their  own  faith,  although  by  far  the  larger 
portion  of  the  population  belonged  to  the  flock  of  the  former. 
The  unsatisfactory  state  of  morals,  manners,  and  religion  iu 
the  colony  was  attributed  to  this  neglect.  At  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  inhabitants  of  Maryland  rose  with  tumultuous  zeal 
against  their  Roman  Catholic  lords,  and  published  a  mani- 
festo in  justification  of  their  proceedings,  accusing  Lord  Balti- 
more's government  of  intolerable  tyranny.  These  statements, 
whether  true  or  false,  aflbrded  King  William  an  opportunity 
to  assume  the  colonial  power  in  his  own  hands,  1691,  and 
to  deprive  the  Calverts  of  all  rights  over  the  country,  except 
the  receipt  of  some  local  taxes.* 

For  a  long  time  but  few  settlers  had  established  themselves 
in  that  part  of  North  America  now  called  Carolina  ;  f  of 
these,  some  were  men  who  had  fled  from  the  persecutions  of 
New  England,  and  formed  a  little  colony  round  Cape  Fear 
[16611;  others  were  Virginians,  attracted  by  the  rich  un- 
occupied lands.  After  the  restoration  of  Charles,  however, 
the  energies  of  the  British  nation,  no  longer  devoted  to  in- 
ternal quarrels,  turned  into  the  fields  of  foreign  and  colonial 
adventure.  Charles  readily  bestowed  upon  his  followers  vast 
tracts  of  an  uncultivated  wilderness  which  he  had  never 
seen  ;  and  Monk,  duke  of  Albemarle,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
Lords  Berkeley  and  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carteret,  and  a  few 

*  "King  William,  impatient  of  judicial  forms,  by  his  own  act  con- 
stituted Maryland  a  royal  government.  The  arbitrary  act  was  sanc- 
tioned by  a  legal  opinion  IVom  Lord  Holt.      The  Church  of  England 

was  established  as  the  religion  of  the  state In  the  land  whicli 

Catholics  had  opened  to  Protestants,  the  Catholic  inhabitant  was  the 
sole  victim  to  Anglican  intolerance.     INIass  might  not  be  said  publicly. 

....  No  Catholic  might  teach  the  young The  disfranchisement 

of  the  proprietary  Lord  Baltimore  related  to  his  creed,  not  to  his  family. 
To  recover  the  inheritance  of  authority,  Benedict,  the  son  of  the  pro- 
prietary, renounced  the  Catholic  Church  for  that  of  England.  The 
persecution  never  crushed  the  faith  of  the  humble  colonists.' — Bac- 
croft,  vol.  iii.,  p.  33. 

t  This  name  wa?  given  in  honor  of  Charles  II 


268  THE  CONUUKST  Ol'  CANADA. 

others,  were  created  absolute  lords  of  the  new  province  of 
Carolina.  [1663.]  Great  exertions  were  then  made  to  attract 
settlers ;  immunity  from  prosecution  for  debt  was  secured 
to  them  for  five  years,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  liberal  Con- 
stitution was  granted,  with  a  popular  House  of  Assembly. 
The  proprietors,  anxious  to  perfect  the  work  of  colonization, 
prevailed  upon  the  celebrated  Locke  to  draw  up  a  system  of 
govenrment  for  the  new  state,  which,  however  excellent  in 
theory,  proved  practically  a  signal  failure.*  The  principal 
characteristic  of  the  scheme  was  the  establishment  of  an 
aristocracy  with  fantastic  titles  of  nobility,!  who  met  with 
the  deputies  in  a  Parliament,  where,  however,  the  council 
solely  possessed  the  power  of  proposing  new  laws.  The 
whole  colonial  body  was  subject  to  the  Court  of  Proprietors 
in  England,  which  was  presided  over  by  a  chief  called  the 
Palatine,^  possessing  nearly  supreme  power.  The  sturdy 
colonists  neglected,  or  deferred  for  future  consideration,  every 

*  "  The  system  framed  by  Locke  was  called  '  the  Fundamental 
Constitutions  of  Carolina.'  ....  Locke  was  undoubtedly  well  acquainted 
with  human  nature,  and  not  ignorant  of  the  world :  but  he  had  not  taken 
a  sufficiently  comprehensive  view  of  the  history  of  man,  nor  were  political 
speculators  yet  duly  aware  of  the  necessity  of  adapting  constitutions  to 
those  for  whom  they  were  destined.  The  grand  peculiarity  consisted 
in  i'orming  a  high  and  titled  nobility,  which  might  rival  the  splendor 
of  those  of  the  Old  World.  But  as  the  dukes  and  carls  of  England 
would  have  considered  their  titles  degraded  by  being  shared  with  a 
Carolina  planter,  other  titles  of  foreign  origin  were  adopted.  That 
of  landgrave  was  drawn  from  Germany.  (Locke  himself  was  created 
a  landgrave.)  But  these  princely  denominations,  applied  to  persons 
who  were  to  earn  their  bread  by  the  labor  of  their  hands,  could  confer 
no  real  dignity.  The  reverence  for  nobilit\',  which  can  only  be  the 
result  of  long-continued  wealth  and  influence,  could  never  be  inspired 

by  mere  titles,  especially  of  such  an  exotic  and  fantastic  character 

The  sanction  of  negro  slavery  was  a  deep  blot  in  this  boasted  system. 

The  colonists,  who  felt  perfectly  at  ease  under  their  rude  early 

regulations,  were  struck  with  dismay  at  the  arrival  of  this  philosophical 
fabric  of  polity." — Murray's  America,  vol.  i.,  p.  343. 

t  "  It  was  insisted  that  there  should  be  some  landgraves  and  some 
caciques  when  many  other  parts  of  'the  Fundamental  Constitutions' 
were  given  up ;  but  these  great  nobles  never  struck  any  root  in  the 
"Western  soil,  and  have  long  since  disajipcarcd  " — Hist.  Ace.  of  the 
Colonizalion  of  Huuth  Carolina  and  Georgia,  London,  1779,  vol.  i., 
p.  44-4G  ;   Chalmers,  p.  326,  quoted  by  Murray. 

X  Monk,  duke  of  Albemarle,  was  constituted  palatine. 


THE  CONaUBST  OF  CANADA.  2G9 

portion  of  this  new  Constitution  that  appeared  unsuitable  to 
their  condition,  alleging  that  its  provisions  were  in  violation 
of  the  promises  that  had  induced  them  to  adopt  the  country. 
Carolina  for  a  long  time  progressed  but  slowly.  The 
colonists  had  no  fixed  religion,*  and  their  general  morals 
and  industry  were  very  indifierent.  They  drew  largely  upon 
the  resources  of  the  proprietors  without  giving  any  return, 
and  when  at  length  that  supply  Avas  stopped,  they  resorted 
to  every  idle  and  iniquitous  mode  of  raising  funds.  They 
hunted  the  Indians,  and  sold  them  as  slaves  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  their  sea-ports  became  the  resort  of  pirates. 
These  atrocious  and  ruinous  pursuits  soon  reduced  them  to 
a  state  of  miserable  poverty,  and  the  baneful  influence  of  a 
series  of  profligate  governors  completed  the  mischief  One 
of  these,  named  Sette  Sothel,t  was  especially  conspicuous 
for  rapacity  and  injustice.  [1683.]  His  misrule  at  length 
goaded  the  people  into  insurrection  ;  they  seized  him,  and 
were  about  to  send  him  as  a  prisoner  to  England,  but  released 
him  on  a  promise  of  renouncing  the  government,  and  leaving 
the  colony  for  a  time.  After  these  and  some  other  commo- 
tions, they  succeeded  in  re-establishing  their  ancient  charter 
in  its  original  simplicity. 

Carolina  now  began  to  improve  rapidly,  from  the  influx 
of  a  large  and  valuable  immigration.  The  religious  freedom 
that  had  been  secured  under  the  old  charter  was  continued 
unrestricted  even  under  Mr.  Locke's  complicated  Constitu- 
tion.     Many  Puritans  flocked  in  from  Britain  to  seek  refuge 

*  "It  is  remarkable  that  the  philosophers  colony  seems  to  have  been 
the  only  one  founded  before  the  eighteenth  century,  except  Virginia,  in 
which  the  Church  of  England  was  expressly  established ;  but  this  clause 
i.s  said  to  have  been  introduced  against  his  will." — Merivale  on  Colon- 
ization, vol.  i.,  p.  88-92. 

t  "  Mr.  Chalmers  makes  the  very  bold  assertion  that  the  annals  of 
delegated  authority  do  not  present  a  name  so  branded  with  merited 
infamy,  and  that  there  never  had  taken  place  such  an  accumulation  of 
extortion,  injustice,  and  rapacity  as  during  the  five  years  that  he  mis- 
ruled the  colony.  He  had  been  made  prisoner  in  his  way  out,  and 
kept  in  close  captivity  at  Algiers,  where  he  took,  it  appear.s,  not 
warning,  but  lessons.  (Sette  Sothel  had  purchased  the  rights  of  Lord 
Clarendon,  one  of  the  eight  original  proprietaries.)" — Murray,  vol.  i., 
p.  345. 


270  THE  coN'auHsr  of  canada. 

from  the  persecutions  of  Chnvles  II.,  and  Ly  their  steadiness 
and  industry  soon  attained  considerable  wealtli.  New- 
England  had  also  furnished  her  share  to  the  new  settlement 
of  useful  and  energetic  men  who  had  been  expelled  by  her 
Calvinistic  intolerance.  But  the  narrow-minded  jealousy 
of  the  original  emigrants  soon  interrupted  the  prosperity  of 
the  colony.  Under  the  hypocritical  plea  of  zeal  for  the 
Church  of  England,  to  which  their  conduct  and  morals  were 
a  scandal,  they  obtained,  by  violent  means,  a  majority  of  one 
in  the  Assembly,  and  expelled  all  dissenters  from  the  Legis- 
lature and  government.  They  even  passed  a  law  to  depose 
all  sectarian  clergy,  and  devote  their  churches  to  the  services 
of  the  established  religion.  The  oppressed  Dissenters  appealed 
to  the  British  Parliament  for  protection.  In  the  year  1705, 
an  address  was  voted  to  Ihe  queen  by  the  House  of  Commons, 
declaring  the  injustice  of  these  acts,  but  notliing  was  done  to 
relieve  the  colony  till  in  1721,  when  the  people  rose  in  in- 
surrection, established  a  provisional  goverrmient,  and  prayed 
that  the  king,  George  I.,  would  himself  undertake  their  rule. 
He  granted  their  petition,  and  soon  afterward  purchased  the 
rights  of  the  proprietors.    [1727.]* 

Ln  the  year  1732  a  plan  was  formed  for  relieving  the 
distress  then  severely  pressing  upon  England  by  colonizing 
the  territory  still  remaining  unoccupied  to  the  south  of  the 
Savannah.  Twenty -three  trustees,  men  of  rank  and  in- 
fluence, were  appointed  for  this  purpose,  and  the  sum  of 
X  15,000  was  placed  at  their  disposal  by  Parliament  and  by 
voluntary  subscription.  With  the  aid  of  these  funds  about 
500  people  were  forwarded  to  the  new  country,  and  some 
others  went  at  their  own  expense.  In  honor  of  the  reigning 
king,  the  name  of  Georgia  vi'as  given  to  the  new  settlement. 
The  lands  were  granted  to  the  emigrants  on  conditions  of 
military  service,  and  a  large  j)roportion  of  them  were  selected 
i'rom  among  the  hardy  Scottish  Highlanders  and  the  veterans 
of  some   German    regiments.      Besides    being    the    advance 

*  "The  rights  of  tlic  prnprictor.s  were  sold  to  the  khig  for  about  the 
sum  of  .£'20,000.  Lord  Caitcret  alone,  joining  in  the  siirrondcr  of  tho 
government,  received  an  fighlh  share  in  the  soil." — flisl.  .'Jrcount.  &c., 
vol.  i.,  p.  255-3il, 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  271 

guard  of  civilization  in  the  Indian  country,  the  colony  was 
threatened  Avith  the  rival  claims  of  the  Spaniards  in  Florida, 
the  boundaries  of  whose  territory  were  very  vague  and  un- 
certain. Happily  for  Georgia,  Mr.  Oglethorpe,  the  original 
founder  of  the  settlement,  succeeded  in  establishing  a  lasting 
friendship  with  the  powerful  Creek  Indians,  the  natives  of 
the  country  ;  but  the  Spaniards  never  ceased  to  alarm  and 
threaten  the  colony  till  British  arms  had  won  the  whole 
Atlantic  coast.  Owing  to  this  disadvantage,  and  still  more 
to  certain  humane  restrictions  upon  the  Indian  trade,*  no 
great  influx  of  population  took  place  until  1763,  when  peace 
restored  confidence,  and  men  and  money  were  freely  intro- 
duced from  England. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  great  American  states 
that  declared  their  independence  in  1783,  was,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Georgia,  the  latest  in  its  origin.  Under  the  wise 
and  gentle  influence  of  the  founders,  however,  it  progressed 
more  rapidly  than  any  other.  When  time  and  reflection 
had  cooled  the  ardor  and  softened  the  fanaticism  of  the  early 
Quakers,  the  sect  attracted  general  and  just  admiration  by 
the  mild  and  persevering  philanthropy  of  its  most  distin- 
guished members.  The  pure  benevolence  and  patient  cour- 
age of  Willian  Penn  was  a  tower  of  strength  to  this  new 

*  "The  importation  nnd  use  of  negroes  were  prohibited;  no  rum 
was  allowed  to  be  introduced,  and  no  one  was  permitted  to  trade  with 
the  Indians  without  special  license.  The  colonists  complained  that 
without  negroes  it  was  impossible  to  clear  the  grounds  and  cut  down 
the  thick  forests,  though  the  honest  Highlanders  always  reprobated 
the  practice,  and  denied  that  any  necessity  for  it  existed."  ' — Murray, 
vol.  i.,  p.  360. 

1  "  Slavery,"  -says  Oglethorpe,  "  is  against  the  Gospel,  as  well  as  the  fundamental 
law  of  Eiiffland.  We  refused,  as  trustees,  to  make  a  law  permitting  such  a  horrid 
crimp.."— Memoirs  of  Sharpe,  vol.  i.,  p.  23'1 ;  Stephen's  Journal,  quoted  by  Bancroft. 
In  1751,  however,  after  Oglethorpe  had  finally  left  Georgia,  his  humane  restrictions 
were  withdrawn.  Whitefield,  who  believed  that  God's  providence  would  certainly 
make  slavery  terminate  for  the  advantage  of  the  Africans,  pleaded  before  the  trustees 
in  its  favor.  At  last  even  the  Moravians  (who  in  a  body  emigrated  to  Georgia  in 
1733)  began  to  think  that  negro  slaves  might  be  employed  in  a  Christian  spirit ;  and 
it  was  agreed  that  if  the  negroes  are  treated  in  a  Christian  manner,  their  chauge  of 
country  would  prove  to  them  a  benefit.  A  me-^sage  from  Germany  served  to  crush 
their  scruples:  "  If  you  take  slaves  in  faith,  and  witTi  the  intent  of  conducting  them 
to  Christ,  the  action  will  not  be  a  sin,  but  may  prove  a  benediction."— Urlsperger. 
vol.  ill.,  p-  479,  iMJoted  by  Rancroft,  vol.  iii.,  p.  448. 


272  THE  CONQUKST  OF  CANADA. 

creed ;  well  born,  and  enjoying  a  competent  fortune,  he 
possessed  the  means  as  well  as  the  will  powerfully  to  aid  in 
its  advancement.  He  endured  with  patience,  but  with  un- 
fliuching  constancy,  a  continual  series  of  legal  persecutions, 
and  even  the  anger  of  his  father,  until  the  unspotted  integrity 
of  his  life  and  his  practical  wisdom  at  length  triumphed  over 
prejudice  and  hostility,  and  he  was  allowed  the  privilege  of 
pleading  before  the  British  Parliament  in  the  cause  of  his 
oppressed  brethren. 

William  Penn  inherited  from  his  father  a  claim  against 
the  government  for  <£1G,000,  which  King  Charles  gladly 
paid  by  assigning  to  him  the  territory  in  the  New  World 
now  called  Pennsylvania,*  in  honor  of  the  first  proprietor.! 
This  was  a  large  and  fertile  expanse  of  inland  country  partly 
taken  from  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Maryland.  It  was 
included  between  the  40th  and  lod  degrees  of  latitude,  and 
bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Delaware  River.  The  enlight- 
ened and  benevolent  proprietor  bestowed  upon  the  new  state 
a  Constitution  that  secured,  as  far  as  human  ordinance  was 
capable,  freedom  of  faith,  thought,  and  action.  He  formed 
some  peculiar  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  peace  and 
good  will  among  his  brethren,  and  for  the  protection  of  tlie 
widow  and  the  orphan.  By  his  wase  and  just  dealings  with 
the  Indians,!  he  gained  their  important  confidence  and  friend- 

*  "  He  accepted  this  grant,  because  it  secnred  them  against  any 
other  clainaant  from  Europe.  It  gave  him  a  title  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Christian  world,  but  he  did  not  believe  that  it  gave  him  any  other 
title." — Colonization  and  Civilization,  p.  358. 

t  "Etablissement  de  la  Pennsylvanio,  dans  Ic  pays  qui  avoit  porte 
le  nom  de  Nouvelle  Suede  :  Cette  colonic  a  recu  son  nom  de  son 
fondateur,  le  Chevalier  Guillaume  Penn,  Anglais  a  qui  Charles  11., 
Koi  de  la  Grande  Brctagne,  conceda  ce  pays  en  1680  ct  qui  cette 
annee  1681,  y  mcna  Ics  Quakers  ou  trembleurs  d"Anj,Heterre,  dont 
il  ctoit  le  chef.  Lorsciu'il  y  arriva,  il  y  trouva  un  grand  nombrc  de 
llollandois  et  de  Suedois.  Les  premiers,  pour  la  ])lupart,  occupoicnt 
les  endroits,situes  le  long  du  polphe,  et  les  seconds,  Ics  bords  de  la 
Kivicre  De  la  Warr,  ou  du  niidi.  II  paroit  par  une  de  ses  lettres, 
(]u"il  n'etoit  pas  content  des  Ilollandois ;  mais  il  dit  que  les  Suedois 
etoient  une  nation  simple,  sans  malice,  industrieuse,  robuste.  se  souci- 
ant  peu  de  rabond.ince  et  se  contentant  du  necessaire." — Fastes 
Chronologiqucs,  1681. 

t   "  Even  Penn,  however,  did  not   I'uiiv  admit  into  his  scheme  of 


THE  CONQT'EST  OF  CANADA.  273 

ship  :  he  sent  commissioners  to  treat  with  them  for  the  sale 
of  their  lands,  and  in  the  j'ear  1682  met  the  assembled 
chiefs  near  the  spot  where  Philadelphia  now  stands.  The 
savages  advanced  to  the  place  of  meeting  in  great  numbers 
and  in  warlike  guise,  but  as  the  approach  of  the  English 
was  announced,  they  laid  aside  their  weapons  and  seated 
themselves  in  quiet  groups  around  their  chiefs.*  Penn  came 
forward  fearlessly  with  a  few  attendants,  all  unarmed,  and 
in  their  usual  grave  and  simple  attire  ;  in  his  hand  he  held 
a  parchment  on  which  were  written  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 
He  then  spoke  in  a  few  plain  words  of  the  friendship  and 
justice  that  should  rule  the  actions  of  all  men,  and  guide 
him,  and  them,  and  their  children's  children.  The  Indians 
answered  that  they  would  live  in  peace  with  him  and  his 
white  brothers  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  shall  endure. 
And  in  the  Quaker's  parchment  and  the  Indian's  promise 
was  accomplished  the  peaceful  conquest  of  that  lovely  wilder- 
ness, a  conquest  more  complete,  more  secure  and  lasting, 
than  any  that  the  ruthless  rigor  of  Cortes  or  the  stern  valor 
of  the  Puritans  had  ever  won. 

colonization  the  notion  of  retaining  for  the  Indians  a  property  in  a  part 
of  the  soil  they  once  occupied.  He  gave  the  natives  free  leave  to  settle 
in  certain  parts  of  his  territory,  but,  unfortunately,  he  did  not  treat 
any  definite  tract  of  the  soil  as  their  property,  which  vs'ould  rise  in 
value  along  with  other  tracts,  and  thus  afford  a  stimulus  to  their 
gradual  improvement.  It  was  the  want  of  systematic  views  in  this 
and  other  respects,  which  rendered  the  benevolent  intentions  of  Penn 
toward  the  natives  of  little  ultimate  avail ;  so  that,  after  all,  the  chief 
good  which  he  effected  was  by  setting  an  example  of  benevolence  and 
justice  in  the  principle  of  his  dealings  with  them." — Merivale  on 
Colonization,  vol.  ii.,  p.  173. 

*  "  William  Penn  of  course  came  unarmed,  in  his  usual  plain  dress, 
without  banners,  or  mace,  or  guard,  or  carriages,  and  only  distinguish- 
ed fi'om  his  companions  by  wearing  a  blue  sash  of  silk  net-work  (which, 
it  seems,  is  still  preserved  by  Mr.  Kett,  of  Seething  Hall,  near  Nor- 
wich), and  by  having  in  his  hand  a  roll  of  parchment,  on  which  was 
engrossed  the  confirmation  of  the  treaty  of  purchase  and  amity." — 
Edinburgh  Review  of  Clarkson''s  Life  of  William  Penn,  p.  358. 

"  The  scene  at  Shachamaxon,  quoted  by  Howitt,  forms  the  subject 
of  one  of  the  pictures  of  West.  Thus  ended  this  famous  treaty,  of 
which  Voltaire  has  remarked  with  so  much  truth  and  severity,  '  That 
it  was  the  only  one  ever  concluded  which  was  not  ratified  by  an  oath, 
and  the  only  one  that  never  was  broken.'  " — Howitt.  p.  360. 

M* 


274  THK  CONQUKST  OF  CANADA. 

The  prosperity  of  Pennsylvania  advanced  with  unex- 
ampled ra{)idity.*  The  ibunder  took  out  with  him  two 
thousand  well-chosen  emigrants,  and  a  considerable  number 
had  preceded  him  to  the  new  country.  The  orderly  freedom 
that  prevailed,!  and  the  perpetual  peace  with  the  Indians, J 
gave  a  great  advantage  to  this  colony  ;  emigration  flowed 
thither  more  abundantly  than  to  any  other  settlement,  and 
thus,  although  of  such  recent  origin,  this  state  soon  equaled 
the  most  successful  of  its  older  neighbors. 


CHAPTEPv  XII. 


Having  noticed  the  principal  features  of  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  English  colonies — the  powerful  and  dangerous 
neighbors  of  the  French  settlements  in  the  New  World — it 
is  now  time  to  return  to  the  course  of  Canadian  history  sub- 
sequent to  the  death  of  the  illustrious  founder  of  Quebec. 

Monsieur  de  Montmagny  succeeded  Champlain  as  govern- 
or, and  entered  with  zeal  into  his  plans,  but  difficulties  ac- 
cumulated on  all  sides.  Men  and  money  M'cre  Avanting, 
trade  languished,  and  the  Associated  Company  in  France 
were  daily  becoming  more  indifTerent  to  the  success  of  the 
colony.      Some  few  merchants  and  inhabitants  of  the  out- 

*  "  In  three  years  from  its  foundation,  Philadelpliia  gained  more 
than  New  York  had  done  in  half  a  century." — Bancroft's  History  of 
the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  p.  394. 

t  "Virtue  had  never,  perhaps,  inspired  a  legi-slation  better  calcu- 
lated to  promote  the  fidelity  of  mankind.  The  opinions,  the  senti- 
ments, and  the  morals  corrected  whatever  might  be  deficient  in  it." — 
llaynal,  vol.  vii.,  p.  292. 

"  Beautiful,"  said  the  philosophic  Frederick  of  Prussia,  when  he 
read  the  account  of  the  government  of  Pennsylvania;  "it  is  perfect, 
if  it  can  endure." — Herder,  p.  1.'',  IIC.  Quoted  by  Bancroft,  vol.  ii.. 
p.  392. 

t  "  Their  conduct  to  the  Indians  never  altered  for  the  worse. 
Pennsylvania,  while  under  the  administration  of  the  Quakers,  never  be- 
came, as  New  England,  a  slaughter-house  of  the  Indians." — Hewitt, 
p.  366. 


THE  CONaURST  OF  CANADA.  275 

posts,  indeed,  were  enriched  by  the  profitable  dealings  of  the 
fur-trade,  but  their  suddenly-acquired  wealth  excited  the 
jealousy  rather  than  increased  the  general  prosperity  of  the 
settlers.  The  work  of  religious  institutions  was  alone  pur- 
sued with  vigor  and  success  in  those  times  of  failure  and 
discouragement.  At  Sillery,  one  league  from  Quebec,  an 
establishment  was  founded  for  the  instruction  of  the  savages 
and  the  diffusion  of  Christian  light.  [1G37.]  The  Hotel 
Dieu  owed  its  existence  to  the  Duchesse  d'Aiguillon  two 
years  afterward,  and  the  Convent  of  the  Ursulines  was 
founded  by  the  pious  and  high-born  Madame  de  la  Peltrie.* 
The  partial  success  and  subsequent  failure  of  Champlain 
and  his  Indian  allies  in  their  encounters  with  the  Iroquois 
had  emboldened  these  brave  and  politic  savages.  They 
now  captured  several  canoes  belonging  to  the  Hurons,  laden 
with  furs,  which  that  friendly  people  were  conveying  to 
Quebec.  Montmagny's  military  force  was  too  small  to  allow 
of  his  avenging  this  insult ;  he,  however,  zealousy  promoted 
an  enterprise  to  build  a  fort  and  effect  a  settlement  on  the 
island  of  Montreal,  which  he  fondly  hoped  Avould  curb  the 

*  Among  the  Ursulines  v/ho  accompanied  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  to 
Quebec  was  Marie  de  rincarnation,  ''the  Theresa  of  France,"  and 
Marie  de  St.  Joseph.  The  sanctity  of  these  remarkable  women  and 
the  miracles  they  performed  are  the  favorite  theme  of  the  Jesuit  his- 
torians of  Canada.  Several  lives  of  the  former  have  been  published, 
one  of  them  by  Charlevoix.  A  quarto  volume  of  her  letters  was  also 
published  (a,  Paris,  chez  Louis  Billaine,  1681)  ;  they  are  highly  ex- 
tolled as  "  worthy  of  her  high  reputation  for  sanctity,  ability,  and 
practical  good  sense  in  the  business  of  life."  They  record  many  his- 
torical facts  which  occurred  during  the  thirty-two  years  that  she  passed 
in  Canada,  where  she  arrived  in  1640.  When  the  Ursuhnes  and  the 
"  Filles  Hospitalieres"  landed  at  Quebec,  they  were  received  with  en- 
thusiasm. "It  was  held  as  a  festival  day;  all  work  was  forbidden; 
and  the  shops  were  shut.  The  governor  received  these  heroines  upon 
the  shore  at  the  head  of  the  troops,  who  were  under  arms,  the  guns 
firing  a  salute.  After  the  first  greeting  he  led  them  to  the  church, 
accompanied  by  the  acclamations  of  the  people ;  here  the  Te  Dcuni 
was  chanted." — Charlevoix. 

''  The  venerable  ash  tree  still  lives  beneath  which  Mary  of  the  In- 
carnation, so  famed  for  chastened  piety,  genius,  and  good  judgment, 
toiled,  though  in  vain,  for  the  culture  of  Huron  children." — Bancroft's 
History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.,  p.  127. 


276  THF,    CONQUEST    OF    CANADA. 

audacity  of  his  savage  foes.  The  Agsociated  Company  would 
render  no  aid  whatever  to  this  important  plan,  hut  the  re- 
ligious zeal  of  the  Ahhe  Olivier  overcame  all  difliciilties. 
He  obtained  a  frrant  of  Montreal  from  the  king,  and  dis- 
patched the  Sieur  de  Maisonneuve  and  others  to  take  f»oa- 
session.  On  the  17th  of  May,  1641,  the  place  destined 
for  the  settlement  was  consecrated  by  the  superior  of  the 
Jesuits.* 

*  "  Cette  ville  a  ete  nommee  Ville  Marie  par  «es  fondatetirs,  mai« 
ce  norm  n'a  pa  paHaer  dans  Ynsmse  ordinaire :  Jl  n'a  lieu  qne  dans  lea 
actes  publics,  et  parmi  les  seigneurs,  qui  en  sont  fort  jaloux." — 
Charlevoix.  When  the  fonndations  of  the  city  of  Montreal  were  first 
laid,  the  name  given  to  it  was  Ville  Marie.  Boachette,  vol.  i.,  p.  215: 
La  Hontan,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  266. 

Charlevoix  gives  the  following  aeeonnt  of  the  frirrrmUon  and  prog- 
ress of  the  remarkaVde  settlement  at  Montreal :  '"  Qnclques  personncs 
7>ui.ssanrtes,  et  pins  recommandable  cncf*re  par  Icar  piet/;  ct  jiar  lear 
zele  fionr  la  religion,  formerent  done  nne  .societc,  qui  se  proposa  de 
faire  en  grand  a  Montreal,  ee  qu'on  avoit  fait  v.n  petit  a  Sillery.  II 
devoft  y  avoir  dans  cette  i.sle  nne  b'^)nrgade  Francoise,  bien  fortifiee, 
et  a  I'abri  de  toate  insalte.  Les  panvres  y  devoient  etre  recos,  et 
mLs  en  etat  de  subsister  de  leur  travail.  On  prf/jetta  de  faire  r^ccuper 
tonl  le  reste  de  I'isle  par  des  salvages,  de  qaelque  nation  qu  ils  fu.isent, 
pourvij  qa'ils  fi.ssent  profession  du  Christianisme,  oa  qu'ils  vonlnssent 
se  faire  instmire  de  nos  mysteres,  et  I'on  etoit  d'antant  plas  persna/Je 
qa'ils  y  viendraient  en  errand  nornbre  qn'  orjtre  nn  asiJe  assure  eontre 
les  poTirsniies  de  lenrs  ennemis,  ils  pc^nvoient  se  promettre  des  sef.-onrs 
tonjours  y)rompts  dans  lenrs  mala<lies,  et  eontre  la  disette.  On  sfs 
f»rof>osoit  meme  de  les  p<^>lieer  avee  le  terns,  et  de  les  aeeontnmer  a  ne 
plus  vivre  que  da  travail  de  lenrs  mains.  Le  nombrc  de  ceux  qni 
entroient  dans  cetlc  as.vK;iation  fnt  de  trentc-f;inq  :  dfa  cette  annee 
1640,  en  verta  de  la  concession  qne  le  roi  Ini  fit  de  I'isle,  elle  en  fit 
prendre  possession  a  la  fin  dune  messe  .solennelle,  qni  fnt  celel/ree 
soas  une  tente.  Le  quinzieme  d'Octobre  I'annee  snivante,  .M.  dc 
Mai.v>nneave  fnt  declare  gouvemenr  de  I'isle.  Le  dix-septieme  de 
.May  snivant,  le  lieu  destine  a  I'habitation  Frarifoise  fnt  Wni  par  le 
Saj»erienr  des  Jesnites,  qni  y  celel>ra  les  saints  mysteres,  dedia  k  la 
mere  de  I>ien  one  petite  cbaf>elle,  qa'on  avoit  itktie,  et  il  y  laissa  le 
St.  Sacrement.  Cette  ceremonie  avoit  etc  precede  d'nne  autre,  trois 
mois  anparavant,  c'est  a  dire  vers  la  fin  de  Fevrier  :  Uiuh  les  Assoeie* 
s  etant  rendoj  nn  .Jendi  matin  a  NV/tre  Dame  de  Pari.s,  cenx  qnt 
I'loient  pretres,  y  dirent  la  messe,  les  antres  cornmnnierent  a  I'ant^l 
'Je  la  Vierge  et  tons  sapplierent  la  rcine  des  anges  de  pendre  I'isle 
de  Montreal  .sons  sa  protection.  Knfin  le  qninzf;  d'Aout,  la  f»';te  de 
I'A.sflomption  de  la  mere  de  Diea  fnt  solemnisee  dans  cette  isle  avee  nn 
concours  extraordinaire  de  Francois  et  de  taavages.     On  ne  negligea 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CAXADA.  277 

At  the  same  time  the  governor  erected  a  fort  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  River  Richelieu,  then  called  the  Iroquois. 
The  workmen  employed  at  this  labor  were  constantly  ex- 
posed to  the  harassing  warfare  of  the  Indians,  but  at  length 
completely  repulsed  them.  A  garrison,  such  as  could  be 
spared  from  the  scanty  militia  of  the  colony,  was  placed  in 
the  little  stronghold  for  its  defense.  Although  the  minds 
of  the  fierce  Iroquois  were  fixed  upon  the  utter  destruction 
of  the  French,  and  in  their  confident  boastings  they  declared 
that  they  could  drive  the  white  men  into  the  sea,  they  indi- 
cated from  time  to  time  a  desire  for  peace.  Montmagny 
was  compelled  by  weakness  and  the  difficulties  of  his  situa- 
tion, to  accept  overtures  which  he  could  not  but  dread  as 
insidious  and  treacherous,  and  he  assumed  an  air  of  confi- 
deaice  which  he  by  no  means  felt.  His  native  allies  were 
also  eagerly  anxious  for  the  blessings  of  peace,  and,  through 
their  means,  an  opportunity  for  opening  negotiations  soon 
offered.  The  governor  and  the  friendly  native  chiefs  met  the 
deputies  of  the  Iroquois  nation  at  Three  Rivers  to  arrange 

rien  dans  cette  occasion  pour  interesser  le  ciel  en  faveur  d"un  eta- 
blissement  si  utile,  et  pour  donner  aux  infideles  une  haute  idee  de  la 
religion  Chretienne." — Charlevoix,  torn,  i.,  p.  345. 

In  the  year  1644  Charlevoix  says,  "  L'isle  de  Montreal  se  peuploit 
insensibiement.  et  la  piete  de  ces  nouveaux  colons  disposoit  peu  a 
lieu  les  sauvases  qui  les  approchoicnt  a  se  soiimettre  au  joug  de  la 
Ibi."  In  1657.  however,  it  was  considered  that  "les  premici-s  posses- 
seurs  de  Tisle  n'avoicnt  pas  pousse  Tetablissement  autaut  qu"on  avoit 
d'abord  esperc."  and  it  was  therefore  ceded  to  the  Seminary  of  St. 
Sulpice  in  Paris.  From  that  time  the  establishment  made  a  rapid 
progress,  M.  de  INIaisonneuve  still  continuing  its  governor,  after  it 
had^'hansed  masters.  He  was  a  man  of  ability  and  piety  :  under  his 
auspices  the  order  of  ''  Filles  do  la  Congregation"  was  established  at 
;^[ontreal  by  Mavirarct  Bourgeois,  who  had  accompanied  the  first 
settlci-s  on  the  island  from  France.  For  the  details  of  this  admirable 
institution  see  Charlevoix,  torn,  ii.,  p.  94.  He  speaks  of  it  with 
justice  as  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  New  France. 

'•  Jusqu'  en  Tannee  1692.  la  justice  particuliere  de  Montreal 
appartenoit  a  ^klessieurs  du  Seminaire  de  St.  Sulpice.  en  qualite  de 
seigneurs.  lis  en  donnerent  alors  leur  demission  au  roi,  a  condition 
que  I'exercice  leur  en  resteroit  dans  Tenclos  de  leur  seminaire,  et 
dans  leur  ferme  de  St.  Gabriel,  avec  la  propriete  perpetuclle  et  incom- 
mutable du  Grefle  de  la  justice  royale,  qui  seroit  etablie  dans  Tisle, 
et  la  nomination  du  premier  juge." — Charlevoix,  torn.  ii..  p.  140. 


278  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  terms  of  the  proposed  treaty.  [164-5.]  After  various 
orations,  songs,  dances,  and  exchanges  of  presents,  peace  was 
concluded  to  the  salisfaction  of  both  parties  ;  and  for  the 
time  at  least,  with  apparent  good  faith,  for  the  following 
winter  the  French  and  their  new  allies  joined  together  in 
the  chase,  and  mixed  fearlessly  in  friendly  intercourse. 

M.  de  Montmagny  was  superseded  as  governor  of  Canada 
by  M.  d'Ailleboust  in  the  year  1647.  He  had  proved  him- 
self a  man  of  judgment,  courage,  and  virtue,  and  had  gained 
the  love  of  the  settlers  and  Indians,  as  well  as  the  approval 
of  the  court.  But,  in  consequence  of  the  governor  of  the 
American  islands  having  recently  refused  to  surrender  office 
to  a  person  appointed  by  the  king,  it  was  decreed  that  no 
one  should  hold  the  government  of  a  colony  for  more  than 
three  years.  M.  d'Ailleboust  was  a  man  of  ability  and 
worth,  and,  having  held  the  command  at  Three  Pv-ivers  for 
some  time,  was  also  experienced  in  colonial  afiairs,  but  he 
received  no  more  support  from  home  than  his  predecessor  ; 
and,  despite  his  best  eflbrts,  New  France  continued  to  lan- 
guish under  his  rule. 

The  colony,  however,  was  now  free  from  the  scourge  of 
savage  hostility.  The  Indians  turned  their  subtle  craft  and 
terrible  energy  to  the  chase  instead  of  war.  From  the  far- 
distant  hunting-grounds  of  the  St.  Maurice  and  of  the  gloomy 
Saguenay,  they  crowded  to  Three  Rivers  and  Tadoussac  with 
the  spoils  of  the  forest  animals.  At  those  settlements  the  trade 
went  briskly  on,  and  many  of  the  natives  became  domes- 
ticated among  their  white  neighbors.  The  worthy  priests 
were  not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  this  favorable  opportunity  ; 
many  of  the  hunters  from  the  north,  who  were  attracted  to 
the  French  villages  by  the  fur  trade,  were  told  the  great 
tidings  of  redemption  ;  and  usually,  when  they  returned  the 
following  year,  they  were  accompanied  by  others,  who  desired, 
with  them,  to  receive  the  rites  of  baptism.* 

*  The  kindness  of  tlic  missionaries  has  been  one  of  the  causes  that 
has  perpetuated  a  kindly  feeling  toward  the  French.  Among  the 
American  Indians,  "  a  person,  even  in  times  of  hostility,  .speaking 
French  will  find  security  from  the  attachment  of  the  people  to  every 
thing  that  is  French." — Imlay,  p.  8. 


THE  CONaUHST  OF  CANADA.  279 

Tlie  most  numerous  and  pious  of  tlie  proselytes  Avere  of 
the  Huron  tribe,  an  indolent  and  unwarlike  race,  against 
Avhom  the  bold  and  powerful  Iroquois  held  deadly  feud,  which 
the  existing  peace  only  kept  in  abeyance  till  opportunity 
might  arise  for  efiective  action.  The  little  settlement  of 
St.  Joseph  was  the  place  where  first  an  Indian  congregation 
assembled  for  Christian  worship  ;  the  I'ather  Antoine  Daniel 
was  the  pastor  ;  the  flock  were  of  the  Huron  tribe.  Faith 
in  treaties  and  long-continued  tranquillity  had  lulled  this 
unhappy  people  into  a  fatal  security,  and  all  cautions  were 
forgotten,*  when,  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  July,  1648, 
while  the  missionary  was  performing  service,  there  suddenly 
arose  a  cry  of  terror  that  the  Iroquois  were  at  hand.  None 
but  old  men,  women,  and  children  were  in  the  village  at 
the  time  ;  of  this  the  crafty  enemy  were  aware  ;  they  had 
crept  silently  through  the  woods,  and  lain  in   ambush  till 

"  To  do  justice  to  truth,  the  French  missionaries  in  general  have 
invariably  distinguished  themselves  every  where  by  an  exemplary  life, 
befitting  their  profession.  Their  religious  sincerity,  their  apostolic 
charit)',  their  insinuating  kindness,  their  heroic  patience,  their  remote- 
ness from  austerity  and  fanaticism,  fix  in  these  countries  memorable 
epochs  in  the  annals  of  Christianity ;  and  while  the  memory  of  a  Del 
Vilde,  a  Vodilla,  &e.,  will  be  held  in  everlastintj  execration  by  all  truly 
Christian  hearts,  that  of  a  Daniel,  a  Brebeuf,  &c..  will  never  lose  any 
of  that  veneration  which  the  history  of  discoveries  and  missions  has  so 
justly  conferred  upon  them.  Hence  that  predilection  which  the  savages 
manifest  for  the  French,  a  predilection  which  they  natural!}'  find  in  the 
recesses  of  their  souls,  cherished  by  the  traditions  which  their  fathers 
have  left  in  favor  of  the  first  apostles  of  Canada,  then  called  New- 
France." — Eeltrami"s  Travels,  1823.  The  authority  of  this  passage, 
Chateaubriand  observes,  is  the  stronger,  as  the  writer  is  severe  in  his 
condemnation  of  the  modern  Jesuit. 

*  "Ce  n'etoit  pas  la  faute  de  leurs  missionnaires,  s'ils  s'cndormaicnt 
d'e  la  sorte ;  mais  ces  religieux  ne  pouvant  gagncr  sur  leurs  neophytes 
qu'ils  prissent  pour  leur  surete  les  precautions  que  la  prudence  exigeoit, 
redoublerent  leurs  soins  pour  achever  de  les  sanctifier,  et  pour  les  pre- 
parer a  tout  ce  qui  pourroit  arriver.  lis  les  trouvcrent  sur  cet  article 
d'une  docilite  parfaite  ;  ils  n"eurent  aucune  peine  a  les  faire  cntrcr  dans 
les  sentimens  les  plus  convenables  a  la  triste  situation  oii  ils  so  reduisaient 
euxmemes  par  une  indolence,  et  un  aveuglement,  qu'on  nc  pouvoit 
comprendre  et  qui  n"a  peut-elre  point  d"exemple  dans  I'histoire.  Ce 
qui  consoloit  les  pasteurs,  c"cst  qu"ils  les  voyoient  dans  Toccasion  braver 
la  mort  avec  un  couranje,  qui  les  animoit  euxmemes  a  mourir  en  h^ros 
Chretiens." — Charlevoix. 


280  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

morning  gave  them  light  for  the  foul  massacre.  Not  one 
of  the  inhabitants  cccaped,  and  last  of  all,  the  good  priest 
was  likewise  slain. 

During  this  year  the  first  communication  passed  between 
the  French  and  British  North  American  colonies.  An  en- 
voy arrived  at  Quebec  from  New  England,  bearing  proposals 
for  a  lasting  peace  with  Canada,  not  to  be  interrupted  even 
by  the  wars  of  the  mother  countries.  M.  d' Ailleboust  gladly 
entertained  the  wise  proposition,  and  sent  a  deputy  to  Boston 
M'ith  full  powers  to  treat,  providing  only  that  the  English 
would  consent  to  aid  him  against  the  Iroquois.  But  the 
cautious  Puritans  would  not  compromise  themselves  by  this 
stipulation.  They  were  sufficiently  remote  from  the  fierce 
and  formidable  savages  of  the  Five  Nations  to  be  free  from 
present  apprehension,  and  to  their  steady  and  industrious 
habits  the  plow  was  more  suitable  than  the  sword.  The 
negotiation,  therefore,  totally  failed,  which  was  probably  of 
little  consequence,  for  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  how  these 
remote  and  feeble  colonies  could  have  preserved  a  neutrality 
in  the  contentions  of  England  and  France,  which  was  im- 
possible even  to  powerful  states. 

After  a  treacherous  calm  of  some  six  months'  duration,  the 
unhappy  Hurons  again  relapsed  into  a  fatal  security  ;  the 
terrible  lessons  of  the  past  were  forgotten  in  the  apparent 
tranquillity  of  the  present.  Watch  and  ward  were  relaxed, 
and  again  they  lay  at  the  mercy  of  their  ruthless  enemies. 
When  least  expected,  1000  Iroquois  warriors  started  up  from 
the  thick  coverts  of  a  neighboring  forest,  and  lell  fiercely  upon 
the  defenseless  Hurons,  burned  two  of  their  villages,  exter- 
minated the  inhabitants,  and  put  two  French  missionaries 
to  death  with  horrible  tortures.  Then  the  remnant  of  the 
defeated  tribe  despaired  ;  the  alliance  of  the  French  had 
only  embittered  the  hostility  of  their  enemies  without  aflbrd- 
iug  protection ;  therefore  they  arose  and  deserted  their  villages 
and  hunting  grounds,  wandering  away,  some  into  the  northern 
Ibi'esls,  others  as  suppliants  among  neighboring  nations. 

The  greater  body  of  the  Hurons,  however,  attached  them- 
selves to  the  fortunes  of  the  missionaries,  and  under  them 
formed  a  settlement  on  the  island  of  St.  Joseph,  but  they 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  281 

neglected  to  cultivate  the  land.  As  the  autumn  advanced, 
the  resources  of  the  chase  became  exhausted,  and  the  horrors 
of  famine  commenced.  They  were  shortly  reduced  to  the 
most  dreadful  extremities  of  suffering  ;  every  direst  expedient 
that  starvation  could  prompt  and  despair  execute  was  resorted 
to  for  a  few  days'  prolonging  of  life.  Then  came  the  scourge 
of  contagious  fever,  sweeping  numbers  away  with  desolating 
fury.  While  these  terrible  calamities  raged  among  the  Hu- 
rons,  the  Iroquois  seized  the  opportunity  of  again  invading 
them.  The  village  of  St.  John,  containing  nearly  3000 
souls,  was  the  first  point  of  attack.  The  leeble  inhabitants 
offered  no  resistance,  and,  with  their  missionary,  were  totally 
destroyed.  Most  of  the  remnant  of  this  unhappy  tribe  then 
took  the  resolution  of  presenting  themselves  to  their  con- 
querors, and  were  received  into  the  Iroquois  nation.  The 
few  who  still  remained  wandering  in  the  ibrests  were  hunted 
down  like  wolves,  and  soon  exterminated. 

The  terror  of  the  Iroquois  name  now  spread  rapidly  along 
the  shores  of  the  great  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  north.  The 
fei'tile  banks  of  the  Ottawa,  once  the  dwelling-place  of  rm- 
merous  and  powerful  tribes,  became  suddenly  deserted,  and 
no  one  could  tell  whither  the  inhabitants  had  fled. 

About  this  time  was  introduced  among  the  Montagnez, 
and  the  other  tribes  of  the  Saguenay  country,  an  evil  more 
destructive  than  even  the  tomahawk  of  the  Iroquois — the 
"  accursed  fire-water  ;"  despite  the  most  earnest  efforts  of 
the  governor,  the  fur  traders  at  Tauoussac  supplied  the  In- 
dians with  this  fatal  luxury.  In  a  short  time,  intoxication 
and  its  dreadful  consequences  became  so  frequent,  that  the 
native  chiefs  prayed  the  governor  to  imprison  all  drunkards. 
At  Three  Rivers,  however,  the  wise  precautions  of  the 
authorities  preserved  the  infant  settlement  from  this  mon- 
strous calamity. 

In  the  year  1650  M.  d'Ailleboust  was  worthily  succeeded 
by  M.  de  Lauson,  one  of  the  principals  of  the  Associated 
Company.  The  new  governor  found  affairs  in  a  very  dis- 
couraging condition,  the  colony  rapidly  declining,  and  the 
Iroquois,  flushed  by  their  sanguinary  triumphs,  more  auda- 
cious than  ever.      These  fierce  savages  intruded  fearlessly 


282  THE  CONaUKST  OF  TANADA. 

among  the  French  settlements,  despising  forts  and  intrench- 
ments,  and  insulting  the  inhabitants  with  impunity.  The 
island  of  Montreal  suflered  so  much  from  their  incursions, 
that  M.  de  Maisonneuve,  the  governor,  was  obliged  to  re- 
pair to  France  to  seek  succors,  for  which  he  had  vainly  ap- 
plied by  letter.  He  returned  in  the  year  1653  with  a 
timely  re-enforcement  of  100  men. 

Although  the  Iroquois  had  now  overcome  or  destroyed  all 
their  native  enemies,  and  proved  their  strength  even  against 
the  Europeans,  some  of  their  tribes  were  more  than  ever  dis- 
posed to  a  union  with  the  white  men.  The  Onnontagues 
dispatched  an  embassy  to  Quebec  to  request  that  the  gover- 
nor would  send  a  colony  of  Frenchmen  among  them.  He 
readily  acceded  to  the  proposition,  and  fifty  men  were  chosen 
for  tlie  establishment,  with  the  Sieur  Dupuys  for  their  com- 
mander. Four  missionaries  were  appointed  to  found  the 
first  Iroquois  church  ;  and  to  supply  temporal  wants,  pro- 
visions for  a  year,  and  sufficient  seed  to  sow  the  lands  about 
to  be  appropriated,  were  sent  with  the  expedition.  This 
design  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  other  Iroquois  tribes  ;  the 
Agniers  even  tried  to  intercept  the  colonists  with  a  force  of 
400  warriors  ;  they,  however,  only  succeeded  in  pillaging  a 
few  of  the  canoes  that  had  fallen  behind.  The  same  war 
party  soon  after  made  an  onslaught  upon  ninety  Hurons, 
working  on  the  Isle  of  Orleans  under  French  protection, 
slew  six,  aiid  carried  off  the  rest  into  captivity.  As  they 
passed  before  Quebec  they  made  their  vnihappy  prisoners 
sing  aloud,  insulthigly  attracting  the  attention  of  the  garri- 
son. The  marauders  were  not  pursued  ;  they  dragged  the 
prisoners  to  their  villages,  burned  the  chiefs,  and  condemned 
the  rest  to  a  cruel  bondage.  M.  de  Lauson  can  hardly  be 
excused  for  thus  suffering  his  allies  to  be  torn  from  under 
his  protection  without  an  effort  to  save  them  from  their  mer- 
ciless enemies.  These  unfortunates  had  been  converted  to 
Christianity,  which  increased  the  rage  and  ferocity  of  the 
captors  against  them.  One  brave  chief,  whose  tortures  had 
been  prolonged  for  three  days  as  a  worshiper  of  the  God  of 
the  white  men,  bore  himself  faithfully  1o  the  last,  and  died 
with  the  Saviour's  blessed  name  upon  his  quivering  lip. 


THK  CONQUEST  OF  CAXADA.  283 

111  the  mean  lime  the  expedition  to  the  country  of  the 
Onnontagues  suflbred  great  privations,  and  only  escaped  starv- 
ation by  the  generosity  of  the  natives.  Their  spiritual  mis- 
sion was,  hovv^ever,  at  first  eminently  successful,  the  whole 
nation  seeming  disposed  to  adopt  the  Christian  faith.  But 
the  allied  tribes  having  carried  their  insolence  to  an  intoler- 
able degree,  and  massacred  three  Frenchmen  near  Montreal, 
the  commandant  at  Quebec  seized  all  the  Iroquois  within  his 
reach,  and  demanded  redress.  The  answer  of  the  Jiaughty 
savages  was,  to  prepare  for  war.  Dupuys  and  his  little 
colony  were  now  in  a  most  perilous  position  :  there  was  no 
hope  of  aid  from  Quebec,  and  but  little  chance  of  being  able 
to  escape  from  among  their  dangerous  neighbors.  They  la- 
bored diligently  and  secretly  to  construct  a  sufficient  number 
of  canoes  to  carry  them  away  in  case  some  happy  opportunity 
might  arise,  and  found  means  to  warn  the  people  of  Quebec 
of  the  coming  danger.  By  great  industry  and  skill  the  ca- 
noes were  completed,  and  stored  with  the  necessary  provi- 
sions ;  through  an  ingenious  stratagem,  the  French  escaped  in 
safety,  while  the  savages  slept  soundly  after  one  of  their  sol- 
emn feasts.  In  fifteen  days  the  fugitives  arrived  at  Montreal, 
where  they  found  alarm  on  every  countenance.  The  Iroquois 
swarmed  over  the  island,  and  committed  great  disorders,  al- 
though still  professing  a  treacherous  peBce.  The  savages  soon, 
however,  threw  ofl"  the  mask,  and  broke  into  open  war. 

On  the  11th  of  July,  1G58,  the  Viscompte  d'Argenson 
landed  at  Quebec  as  governor.  The  next  morning  the  cry 
"  to  arms"  echoed  through  the  toM'n.  The  Iroquois  had 
made  a  sudden  onslaught  upon  some  Algonquins  under  the 
very  guns  of  the  fortress,  and  massacred  them  without  mercy. 
Two  hundred  men  were  instantly  dispatched  to  avenge  this 
insult,  but  they  could  not  overtake  the  wily  marauders.  In 
the  same  year,  however,  a  party  of  the  Agniers  met  with 
a  severe  check  in  a  treacherous  attempt  to  surprise  Three 
Rivers.  The  lesson  Avas  not  lost,  and  the  colony  for  some 
time  enjoyed  a  much-needed  i-eposc.  The  missionaries  seized 
this  interval  of  tranquillity  to  recommence  their  sacred  la- 
bors :  they  penetrated  into  many  remote  districts  where 
Europeans  had  never  before  reached,  and  discovered  several 


284  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

routes  to  the  dreary  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay.  In  the  year 
1.659,  the  exemplary  Francois  de  Laval,  abbe  de  Montigny, 
arrived  at  Quebec  to  preside  over  the  Canadian  Church  as 
the  first  American  bishop.* 

The  temporal  affairs  of  the  colony  were  falling  into  a  lam- 
entable condition  ;  no  supplies  arrived  from*  France,  and 
the  local  production  was  far  from  sufficient.  Terror  of  the 
Indians  kept  the  settlers  almost  blockaded  in  the  forts,  and 
cultivation  was  necessarily  neglected.  It  was  proposed  by 
many  that  all  the  settlements  should  be  abandoned,  and  that 
they  should  again  seek  the  peaceful  shores  of  their  native 
country.  Many  individuals  were  massacred  by  the  savages, 
and  two  armed  parties,  one  of  thirty  and  the  other  of  twenty- 
six  men,  were  totally  destroyed.  But  some  of  the  Indians, 
too,  began  to  weary  of  this  murderous  war,  and  to  long 
again  for  Christian  instruction  and  peaceful  commerce.  The 
new  governor  was  at  first  little  inclined  to  negotiate  with  his 

*  The  Abbe  de  Monligny  was  titular  Bishop  of  Petrasa,  and  had 
received  from  the  pope  a  brief  as  vicar  apostolic.  The  Church  of 
Quebec  was  not  erected  into  a  bishops  see  until  1670,  when  its  bishop 
was  no  longer  called  titular  Bishop  of  Petra?a,  but  Bishop  of  (iuebec. 
"Ce  qui  avoit  fait  trainer  la  cause  si  fort  en  longueur,  ccst  quil  y 
eut  de  grandes  contestations  sur  la  dependancc  immediate  du  Saint 
Siege,  dont  le  pape  ne  •oulut  point  se  rekicher.  Cela  n'empeche 
pourtant  pas  que  I'Evechc  de  Quebec  ne  soit  en  quelque  faron  uni  au 
clergo  de  France,  en  la  maniere  de  celui  du  Puy,  lecjuel  releve  aussi 
immediatement  de  Rome." — Charlevoix,  torn,  ii.,  p.  189;  Pctits  Droits, 
&c.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  492. 

"  When  the  bishopric  of  Quebec  was  erected,  Louis  XIV.  endowed 
it  with  the  revenue  of  two  abbacies,  those  of  Benevent  and  L'Estrio. 
About  thirty  years  ago,  the  then  bishop,  finding  it  difficult,  consider- 
ing the  distance,  to  recover  the  revenues  of  them,  by  consent  of  Louis 
XV..  resigned  the  same  to  the  clergy  of  France,  to  be  united  to  a  par- 
ticular revenue  of  theirs,  styled  the  economats,  applied  to  the  augment- 
ation of  small  livings,  in  consideration  of  which,  the  bishop  of  this  see 
has  ever  since  received  yearly  8000  livres  out  of  the  said  revenues. 
A  few  years  before  the  late  bi.shoji's  death,  the  clergy  of  France 
granted  him,  for  his  life  onlv,  a  further  pension  of  2000  livres;  the 
bishop  had  no  estate  whatever,  except  his  palace  at  Quebec,  dostro3'ed 
by  our  artillery,  a  garden,  and  the  ground-rent  of  two  or  three  houses 
adjoining  it,  and  built  on  some  part  of  the  lands." — Governor  Murray's 
Report  on  the  Ancient  Government  and  Actual  Slate  of  the  Province 
jf  Quebec  in  1762. 


THE    CONUUEtJT    Ol'    CANADA.  285 

fierce  and  capricious  enemies  ;  but,  influenced  by  the  miser- 
able state  of  the  colony,  which  even  a  brief  truce  might  im- 
prove, he  at  length  agreed  to  an  exchange  of  prisoners  and 
a  peace. 

In  1G62  the  King  of  France  was  at  last  induced  to  heark- 
en to  the  prayers  of  his  Canadian  subjects.  M.  de  Monts* 
was  sent  out  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  country,  and 
400  troops  added  to  the  strength  of  the  garrison.  But  these 
encouraging  circumstances  were  more  than  neutralized  on  ac- 
count of  the  permission  then  granted  by  the  new  governor. 
Baron  d'Avaugour,  for  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits.!  The  dis- 
order soon  rose  to  a  lamentable  height,  and  the  clergy  in 
vain  opposed  their  utmost  influence  to  its  pernicious  progress. 
At  length  the  Avorthy  bishop  hastened  to  France,  and  repre- 
sented to  the  king  the  dreadful  evil  that  afflicted  the  colony. 
His  remonstrances  were  effectual ;  he  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing such  powers  as  he  deemed  necessary  to  stop  the  ruinous 
commerce. 

The  year  1663  was  rendered  memorable  by  a  tremendous 
earthquake,  spoken  of  in  a  preceding  chapter.  In  the 
same  year  the  Associated  Company  remitted  to  the  crown 
all  their  rights  over  New  France,   which  the  king  again 

*  Charlevoix,  torn,  ii.,  p.  120. 

t  '■  Jusque.s-la,  les  gouverneurs  geueraux  avoient  assez  tenuc  la 
main  a  faire  executer  les  ordres,  qu'ils  avoient  eux-memes  donnes,  do 
ne  point  vendre  d'eau  de  vie  aux  sauvages ;  et  le  baron  d'Avaugour 
avoit  decerne  des  peines  tres  severes  contro  ceux  qui  contrevien- 
droient  a  ses  ordonnances  sur  ce  point  capital.  II  arriva  qu'uno 
femme  de  Quebec  fut  surprise  en  y  contrcvenant,  et,  sur  lo  champ, 
conduits  en  prison.  Le  P.  Lalleniant,  a  la  pricre  de  ses  amis,  crul 
pouvoir  sans  consequence  interceder  pour  elle.  II  alia  trouver  le 
general,  qui  le  refut  tres  mal,  et  qui  sans  faire  rcHexion  qu'il  n'y  a 
point  d'inconsequence  dans  les  ministrcs  dun  Dieu  qui  a  donne  sa  vie 
]iour  dctruire  le  peche  et  sauver  le  pccheur,  a  agir  avec  zele  pour 
reprimer  le  vice,  et  a  demander  grace  pour  le  crirainel,  lui  repondit 
brusquement,  que  puisque  la  traite  de  I'eau  de  vie  n'etoit  pas  uno 
faute  punissable  pour  cette  femme,  ellc  ne  le  seroit  desormais  pour 
personne  .  .  .  .  il  ne  consulta  que  sa  mauvaise  humeur  et  sa  droiture 
mal  entendue ;  ct  ce  qu'il  y  cut  de  pis,  c'est  qu'il  se  tit  un  point 
dhonneur  de  ne  point  retracter  Findiscretc  parole  qui  lui  etoit 
echappce.  Le  peuple  en  fut  bientot  instruit  et  le  desordre  devint 
extreme." — Charlevoix,  torn.  ii..  p.  I'.^l. 


286  THE  CONUUKST  OF  CANADA. 

transferred  to  the  West  India  Company.*  Courts  of"  law 
were  for  the  first  time  established,  and  many  families  of 
valuable  settlers  found  their  way  to  the  colony.  Up  to  this 
period  extreme  simplicity  and  honesty  seems  to  have  pre- 
vailed in  the  httle  community,  and  it  was  not  till  then  that 
a  Council  of  State  was  appointed  by  the  crown  to  co-operate 
with  the  governor  in  the  conduct  of  affairs.!     The  king  sent 

*  Petit,  vol.  i.,  p.  24.  Colony  Records.  There  are  no  books  of 
record  in  the  secretary'.s  office  before  this  period.  The  old  records 
were  either  carried  to  France,  or  destroyed  at  the  fire,  when  the  in- 
tendani's  palace  was  burned  down  in  1725. 

"The  company,  '  des  Cents  Associes,'  formed  in  1628,  though  one 
of  the  most  powerful,  according  to  Charlevoix,  that  had  ever  existed, 
with  respect  to  tlie  number,  the  rank,  and  the  accorded  privileges  of 
its  members,  had  allowed  the  colony  to  fall  into  a  deplorable  state  of 
weakness.  In  1662,  when  it  relinquished  its  rights  to  Louis  XIV.,  the 
original  number  of  100  had  diminished  to  45." — Charlevoix,  ii.,  p.  149. 

The  East  India  Company  was  erected  by  the  great  Colbert  in  1664. 
This  company,  having  fallen  into  decay,  was  united  with  the  West 
Indian  Company,  which  was  founded  by  law  in  1718,  and  survived  the 
ruin  of  its  projector. 

t  "  Jusques-la  il  n"y  avoit  point  eu  proprement  de  cour  de  justice 
en  Canada ;  les  gouverneurs  generaux  jugeant  les  affaires  d'une 
maniere  assez  souveraine ;  on  ne  s'avisoit  point  d'appeller  de  leurs 
sentences ;  mais  ils  ne  rendoient  ordinairement  des  arrets,  qu'apres 
avoir  inutilement  tentes  les  voies  de  I'arbitragc,  et  I'on  convient  que 
leurs  decisions  etoient  toujours,  dictees  par  le  bon  sens,  et  selon  les 
regies  de  la  loi  naturelle,  qui  est  audessus  de  toutes  les  autres. 
D'ailleurs  les  Creoles  du  Canada,  quoique  de  race  Normande,-  pour  la 
plupart  n'avoient  seulement  I'esprit  processif,  et  aimoient  mieux  pour 
Tordinaire  ceder  quelque  chose  de  leur  bon  droit,  que  de  perdre  le 
tems  a  plaider.  11  sembloit  meme  que  tous  les  biens  fussent  com- 
munes dans  cette  colonic,  du  moins  on  fut  assez  long  terns  sans  rien 
fermee  sous  la  clef",  et  il  etoit  inoui  qu'on  s'en  abusat.  II  est  bien 
ctrange  et  bien  humiliant  pour  I'homme  (jue  les  precautions  qu'un 
prince  sage  prit  pour  oviter  la  chicane  ct  faire  regner  la  justice,  aient 
])resque  ete  lepoque  de  la  naissance  do  I'une,  et  de  raffoiblissemcnt 

Je   Tautre La  ju.stice  est  rendue   selon  les   ordonnances   du 

royaume  et  la  coutume  de  Paris.  Au  mois  de  Juin,  1679,  le  roi 
autorisa  par  un   edit  (]uelqucs  reglcmcns  du  conseil  de  Quebec,  et 

c'est  ce  qu'on  appellc  dans  le  pays  la  reduction  du  Code par 

un  autre  edit  en  168.3  Ic  conseil  fut  autorise  a  juger  les  causes  crimin- 

clles  au  nombre  de  cin(j  juges c'est  sur  le  module  du  conseil 

supi'rieur  a  Quebec,  qu'on  a  depuis  etabli  ceux  de  la  Martinique,  de 
St.  Domingue,  et  de  Louisiane.  Tons  ses  conseils  sont  d'epee." — 
Charlevoix,  vol.  ii  ,  p.  140. 


Tllli    CO.vaUKrfT    or    CANADA.  "281 

out  the  Sieur  Gaudais  to  inquire  into  the  state  ot"  his  newly- 
acquired  dependency,  and  to  investigate  certain  complaints 
preferred  against  the  Baron  d'Avaugour,  who  had  himself 
prayed  to  be  recalled.  The  sieur  performed  his  invidious 
task  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties  :  he  made  valuable  re- 
ports as  to  the  general  character  of  the  colonial  clergy,  of 
the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  local  administration 
of  government,  and  imputed  no  fault  to  to  the  Baron  d'Avau- 
gour, but  a  somewhat  too  rigid  and  stern  adherence  to  the 
letter  of  the  law,  and  the  severity  of  justice.  The  barou 
then  joyfully  returned  to  France,  but  soon  afterward  fell  in 
the  defense  of  the  fort  of  Seria  against  the  Turks,  while, 
with  the  permission  of  the  French  king,  serving  the  emperor. 

M.  de  Mesy  succeeded  as  governor,  upon  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Bishop  of  Canada,  whose  complaints  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors  had  been  the  principal 
cause  of  the  Baron  d'Avaugour's  recall.  The  new  appoint- 
ment proved  far  from  satisfactory  to  those  by  whose  influence 
it  was  made.  M.  de  Mesy  at  once  raised  up  a  host  of  ene- 
mies by  his  haughty  and  despotic  bearing.  He  thwarted 
the  Jesuits  to  the  utmost  extent  of  his  power  ;  the  council 
supported  them,  alleging  that  their  influence  over  the  native 
race  was  essential  to  the  well-being  of  the  colony.  Various 
representations  of  these  matters  were  made  to  the  court  of 
France,  and  the  final  result  was,  that  the  governor  was  re- 
called. 

Alexandre  de  Prouville,  marquis  de  Tracy,  was  next  ap- 
pointed viceroy  in  America  by  the  king,  with  ample  powers 
to  establish,  destroy,  or  alter  the  institutions  of  the  Canadian 
colony.  Daniel  de  Remi,  seigneur  de  Courcelles,  the  new 
governor,  and  M.  Talon,  the  intendant,  were  conjoined  with 
the  viceroy  in  a  commission  to  examine  into  the  charges 
against  M.  de  Mesy.  [1665,]  M.  de  Tracy  was  the  first 
to  arrive  at  Quebec  ;  he  bore  with  him  the  welcome  re-en- 
forcement of  some  companies  of  the  veteran  regiment  of 
Carignan-Salieres.*      He  sent  a  portion  of  this  force  at  once 

*  "  The  regiment  de  Carignan-Salieres  was  just  arrived  from  Hun- 
gary, where  it  had  distinguished  itself  greatly  in  the  war  against  the 
Turks." — Charlevoi.x.  lorn.  ii..  p.  150. 


288  THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

against  the  Iroquois,  accompanied  by  the  allied  savages. 
The  country  Avas  speedily  cleared  of  every  enemy,  and  the 
harvest  gathered  in  security.  The  remaining  part  of  the 
regiment  arrived  soon  after,  with  the  viceroy's  colleagues  ;  a 
large  number  of  families,  artisans,  and  laborers  ;  the  first 
horses  that  had  ever  been  sent  to  New  France ;  cattle,  sheep  ; 
and,  in  short,  a  far  more  complete  colony  than  that  which 
they  came  to  aid. 

Being  now  established  in  security,  and  confident  in  strength, 
the  viceroy  led  a  sufficient  force  to  the  mouth  of  Pvichelieu 
River,  where  he  erected  three  forts*  to  overawe  the  turbulent 
Iroquois. t  These  works  were  rapidly  and  skillfully  executed, 
and  for  a  time  answered  their  purpose  ;  but  the  wily  savages 
soon  perceived  that  there  were  other  routes  by  which  they 
could  enter  the  settlements.  In  the  mean  time  M.  Talon 
remained  at  Quebec,  collecting  much  valuable  information 
concerning  the  country  and  its  native  inhabitants.  He  was 
spared,  however,  the  task  of  inquiring  into  the  conduct  of 
M.  de  Mesy,  for  that  gentleman  died  before  the  news  of  his 
recall  reached  Canada. 

*  "  M.  de  Sorel,  a  captain  in  the  Regiment  De  Carignan,  was  em- 
ployed on  the  erection  of  the  first  fort,  on  the  same  site  as  the  fort  De 
Richelieu,  built  by  M.  de  ]Montmagny,  now  quite  in  ruins.  De  Sorel 
gave  his  own  name  to  the  fort,  and  in  time  the  river  Richelieu,  or  Iro- 
quois, acquired  it  also. 

"  The  second  fort  was  called  St.  Louis ;  but,  as  M.  de  Chambly, 
captain  in  the  same  regiment,  had  superintended  the  erection,  and 
afterward  acquired  the  land  on  which  it  was  situated,  the  whole  district, 
and  the  stone  fort,  which  has  been  erected  since  upon  the  ruins  of  the 
former  one,  have  accjuired  and  retained  the  name  of  Chambly.  This 
was  a  very  important  fortress,  as  it  protected  the  colony  on  the  side  of 
New  York,  and  the  lower  Iroquois. 

'"The  third  fort  was  built  under  the  direction  of  M.  de  Salieres, 
the  colonel  of  the  regiment  De  Carignan.  He  named  it  St.  Theresa, 
because  it  was  finished  on  that  saint's  day." — Charlevoix,  torn,  ii.,  p. 
152. 

f  "  Every  omen  was  now  favorable,  except  the  conquest  of  New  Netii- 
erlands  (New  York)  by  the  English  in  1664.  That  conquest  eventually 
made  the  Five  Nations  (Irocjuois)  a  depcndance  on  the  English  nation  ; 
and  if  for  twenty-five  years  England  and  France  sued  for  their  friend- 
ship with  unequal  success,  yet  afterward,  in  the  grand  division  of  par- 
ties throughout  the  world,  the  Bourbons  found  in  them  implacable  op- 
ponents."— Bancroft's  History  of  (he  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  p.  149. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  289 

Toward  the  end  of  December,  1665,  three  tribes  of  the 
Iroquois  nation  dispatched  envoys  to  the  viceroy  at  Quebec 
with  proposals  for  peace  and  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners. 
The  terms  were  readily  complied  with.  M.  de  Tracy  re- 
ceived the  Indians  with  politic  kindness  and  attention,  and 
sent  them  back  with  valuable  presents.  But  the  formidable 
tribes  of  the  Agniers  and  Onneyouths  still  kept  sullenly  apart 
from  the  French  alliance  ;  it  was,  therefore,  determined  to 
give  them  a  severe  lesson  for  their  former  insolence  and 
treachery,  and  make  them  feel  the  supremacy  of  France. 
M.  de  Courcelles  and  M.  de  Sorel  were  sent  with  two  corps 
to  humble  the  haughty  savages.  The  hostile  Indians,  alarmed 
at  the  preparations  for  their  destruction,  now  sent  deputies  to 
Quebec  to  avert  the  threatening  storm,  although  some  of  their 
war  parties  still  infested  the  settlements,  and  had  lately  put 
to  death  three  French  officers,  among  them  M.  de  Chasy, 
the  viceroy's  nephew.  One  of  the  Indian  deputies  boasted 
at  M.  de  Tracy's  table  that  he  had  slain  the  French  officers 
with  his  own  hands.  He  was  immediately  seized  and  stran- 
gled, and  the  negotiations  broken  off. 

The  two  French  expeditions  found  the  hostile  country 
altogether  deserted,  and  returned  without  effecting  any  thing, 
having  suffered  great  fatigue  and  hardship.  M.  de  Tracy 
then  took  the  field  in  person,  at  the  head  of  1200  French 
and  600  friendly  Indians,  with  two  pieces  of  cannon.  As 
he  was  setting  out  on  the  march,  chiefs  again  came  from 
the  Agniers  and  Onneyouths  to  pray  for  peace  ;  but  he  would 
hear  of  no  accommodation,  and  even  imprisoned  the  deputies. 
The  French  army  marched  on  the  14th  of  September,  1 666  ; 
provisions  soon  failed  in  the  solitary  desert  through  which 
they  had  to  pass  ;  in  their  greatest  necessity,  however,  they 
entered  a  wood  abounding  in  chestnut-trees,  whose  fruit 
supplied  them  with  sustenance  till  they  gained  the  first 
village  of  the  enemy.  The  warriors  had  abandoned  the 
old  men,  women,  and  children,  and  ample  stores  of  food, 
and  retired  through  the  forest.  The  French  found  the 
Indian  cabans  larger  and  better  than  any  they  had  seen 
elsewhere,  and  in  ingeniously  contrived  magazines,  sunk 
under  the  ground,  sufficient  grain  was  discovered  to  supply 
VOL.  I. — N 


290  THE    (JuXUUKrfT    OF    CANADA. 

the  whole  colony  for  two  years.  The  invaders  burned  and 
utterly  destroyed  all  the  villages,  and  carried  away,  as  cap- 
tives, all  the  inhabitants  that  remained,  but  they  could  not 
succeed  in  overtaking  the  warriors  to  force  them  to  action. 
They  then  retraced  their  steps,  strengthening  the  settlements 
on  the  River  St.  Lawrence  as  they  passed.  When  M.  de 
Tracy  reached  Quebec,  he  caused  some  of  the  prisoners  to 
be  put  to  death  as  a  warning,  and  dismissed  the  remainder. 
Having  established  the  authority  of  the  West  India  Company 
instead  of  that  of  "  The  Hundred  Associates,"  he  returned 
to  France  the  following  spring. 

The  humiliation  of  the  Iroquois  restored  profound  peace 
to  New  France.  Then  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  M.  Talon 
were  directed  to  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the 
country.  Scientific  men  were  sent  to  examine  the  mineral 
resources  of  several  districts  where  promising  indications  had 
been  observed.  The  clearing  of  land  proceeded  rapidly,  and 
invariably  discovered  a  rich  and  productive  soil.  The  popula- 
tion increased  in  numbers,  and  enjoyed  abundant  plenty  :  all 
were  in  a  condition  to  live  in  comfort.  According  to  the 
perhaps  partial  authority  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  the 
progress  in  morality  and  attention  to  religious  observances 
kept  pace  with  the  temporal  prosperity  of  this  happy  colony. 

Although  M.  de  Courcelles  showed  little  activity  in  con- 
ducting the  internal  government  of  the  colony,  which  was 
principally  directed  by  M.  Talon,  he  was  highly  energetic 
and  vigorous  in  his  relations  with  the  Indians.  Having 
learned  that  the  Iroquois  were  intriguing  with  the  Ottawas 
to  direct  their  fur  trade  to  the  English  colonies,  thus  probably 
to  ruin  the  commerce  of  New  France,  he  resolved  to  visit 
the  Iroquois,  and  impress  them  with  an  idea  of  his  power. 
For  this  purpose  he  took  the  route  of  the  deep  and  rapid 
St.  Lawrence,  making  his  way  in  bateaux  for  130  miles 
above  Montreal.  His  health,  however,  suffered  so  much  in 
this  difficult  expedition  that  he  was  obliged  to  demand  his 
recall. 

On  his  return  to  Quebec  he  found  that  several  atrocious 
murders  and  robberies  had  been  committed  upon  Iroquois 
and   Mahingan   Indians   by   Frenchmen,   which   filled   tlio 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  291 

savages  with  indignation,  and  roused  them  to  a  fury  of 
revenge.  They  attacked  and  burned  a  house  in  open  day, 
and  a  woman  perished  in  the  flames.  Numbers  of  the  two 
injured  nations  and  their  savage  alUes  hovered  round  Mont- 
real, awaiting  an  opportunity  for  vengeance.  M.  de  Cour- 
celles,  with  his  wonted  vigor  in  emergencies,  hastened  to  the 
threatened  settlement,  and  called  upon  the  Indian  chiefs  to 
hold  parley.  They  assembled,  and  hearkened  with  attention 
while  he  enumerated  the  advaiitages  that  both  parties  derived 
from  the  existing  peace.  He  then  caused  those  among  the 
murderers  who  had  been  convicted  of  the  crime  to  be  led 
out  and  executed  on  the  spot.  The  Indians  were  at  once 
appeased  by  this  prompt  administration  of  justice,  and  even 
lamented  over  the  malefactors'  wretched  fate  ;  they  were 
also  fully  indemnified  for  the  stolen  property.  The  assembly 
then  broke  up  with  mutual  satisfaction. 

But  soon  again  the  repose  of  the  country  was  threatened 
by  the  Iroquois  and  Ottawas,  who  had  begun  to  make  in- 
cursions upon  each  other.  M.  de  Courcelles  promptly  in- 
terfered to  quell  this  growing  animosity,  declaring  that  he 
would  punish  with  the  greatest  severity  either  party  that 
would  not  submit  to  reasonable  conditions.  He  required 
them  to  send  deputies  to  state  their  wrongs,  and  the  grounds 
of  dispute,  and  took  upon  himself  to  do  justice  to  both  parties. 
He  was  obeyed  :  the  chiefs  of  the  contending  tribes  repaired 
to  Quebec,  and  by  the  firmness  and  judgment  of  the  governor, 
the  breach  was  healed,  and  peace  secured. 

At  this  time  a  scourge  more  terrible  than  even  savage 
war  visited  the  red  race  of  Canada.  The  small-pox  first 
appeared  among  the  northern  tribe  of  the  Attikamegues,  and 
swept  them  totally  away  :  many  of  their  neighbors  shared 
the  same  fate.  Tadoussac,  where  1200  Indians  usually 
assembled  to  barter  their  rich  furs  at  the  end  of  the  hunting 
season,  was  deserted.  Three  Rivers,  once  crowded  with  the 
friendly  Algonquins,  was  now  never  visited  by  a  red  man, 
and  a  few  years  after  the  frightful  plague  first  appeared,  tho 
settlement  of  Sillery,  near  Quebec,  was  attacked;  1500 
savages  took  the  fatal  contagion,  and  not  one  survived. 
The  Hurons,  Avho  had  been  always  most  intimately  associated 


292  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

with  the  French,  suffered  least  among  the  native  nations 
from  the  malady.  In  1670  Father  Chaumonat  assembled 
the  remnant  of  this  once  powerful  tribe  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Quebec,  and  established  them  in  the  village  of  Lorette,* 
where  a  mixed  race  of  their  descendants  remains  to  this  day. 
Even  the  presence  of  the  dreadful  infliction  of  the  small- 
pox and  the  fear  of  French  power  could  not  long  restrain 
the  savage  impulse  for  war.  The  most  distant  tribe  of  the 
Iroquois  became  engaged  in  a  sanguinary  quarrel  with  a 
neighboring  nation,  and  took  a  number  of  prisoners.  The 
governor  immediately  sent  to  warn  these  turbulent  savages 
that  if  they  did  not  desist  from  war,  and  return  their  pris- 
oners, he  would  destroy  their  villages  as  he  had  those  of  the 
Agniers.  This  peremptory  message  raised  the  indignation 
of  the  Iroquois,  they  at  first  proudly  disclaimed  the  right  of 
the  French  to  dictate  to  the  free  people  of  the  forest,  and 
vowed  that  they  would  perish  rather  than  bow  down  to  the 
strangers'  will  ;  but,  finally,  the  wisdom  of  the  old  men  pre- 
vailed in  the  council :  they  knew  that  they  were  not  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  power  of  the  Europeans  ;  it  was  therefore 
decided  that  they  should  send  a  portion  of  their  prisoners  to 
the  governor.  He  either  believed,  or  pretended  to  believe, 
that  they  had  fully  complied  with  his  demands,  deeming  it 
prudent  not  to  drive  the  Indians  to  extremities. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Taking  advantage  of  the  profound  peace  which  now 
blessed  New  France,!  M.  Talon,  the  intendant,  dispatched 

*  "  La  chapelle  a  Lorette  est  batie  sur  le  raodele  et  avec  toutcs  les 
dimensions  de  la  Santa  Case  d'ltalic,  d'ou  Ton  a  envoye  a  nos  neophytes 
une  image  de  la  viergc,  semblable  a  celle,  que  I'on  voit  dans  ce  celebro 
sanctuaire.  On  ne  pouvoit  guere  choisir  pour  placer  cettc  mission,  un 
lieu  plus  sauvagc." — Charlevoix. 

t  "  On  espt'roit  beaucoup  de  lu  Compagnic  ues  Indes  Occidentales, 
mais  elle  ne  prit  guere  plus  a  cocur  les  interets  de  la  Nouvclle  France, 
rpie  n'avoit  fait  la  prcccdentc,  ainsi  que  M.  Talon  avoit  prevu.     Cc- 


THE  CONaUE^T  OF  CANADA.  293 

an.  experienced  traveler,  named  Nicholas  Perrot,  to  the  dis- 
tant northern  and  western  tribes,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing 
them  to  fix  a  meeting  at  some  convenient  place  with  a  view 
of  discussing  the  rights  of  the  French  crown.  This  bold 
adventurer  penetrated  among  the  nations  dwelling  by  the 
great  lakes,  and  with  admirable  address  induced  them  all  to 
send  deputies  to  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary,  where  the  waters  of 
Lake  Superior  pour  into  Lake  Huron.  The  Sieur  de  St. 
Lusson  met  the  assembled  Indian  chiefs  at  this  place  in 
May,  1671  ;  he  persuaded  them  to  acknowledge  the  sov- 
eignty  of  his  king,  and  erected  a  cross  bearing  the  arms  of 
France. 

M.  de  Courcelles  was  succeeded  by  the  able  and  chival- 
rous Louis  de  Buade,  comte  de  Frontenac.  The  new  gov- 
ernor was  a  soldier  of  high  rank,  and  a  trusty  follower  of 
the  great  Henry  of  Navarre  ;  his  many  high  qualities  were, 
however,  obscured  by  a  capricious  and  despotic  temper.  His 
plans  for  the  advancement  of  the  colony  were  bold  and 
judicious,  his  representations  to  the  government  of  France 
fearless  and  effectual,  his  personal  conduct  and  piety  un- 
impeachable, but  he  exhibited  a  bitterness  and  asperity  to 
those  who  did  not  enter  into  his  views  little  suited  to  the 
better  points  of  his  character,  and  it  is  said  that  ambition 
and  the  love  of  authority  at  times  overcame  his  zeal  for  the 
public  good.* 

M.  Talon,  the  intendant,  was  at  this  time  recalled  by 
his  own  wish,  but  before  he  departed  from  the  scenes  of  his 
useful  labors  he  planned  a  scheme  of  exploration  more  ex- 
tensive than  any  that  had  yet  been  accomplished  in  New 
France.  From  the  rumors  and  traditions  among  the  savages 
of  the  far  West,  with  which  the  meeting  at  St.  Mary's  had 
made  the  French  acquainted,  it  was  believed  that  to  the 

pendant  comme  les  secours  que  le  Canada  avait  re9us  les  dernieres 
annees,  I'avoient  mis  sur  un  assez  bon  pied,  11  s'y  conserva  quelque 
terns,  et  il  n'est  pas  memo  retombe  depuis  dans  I'etat  de  foiblesso 
et  d'epuisement  dont  le  roi  venoit  de  le  tirer." — Charlevoix,  torn,  ii., 
p.  161. 

*  "  Le  peuple  adoroit  Frontenac  a  cause  de  sa  bonte." — La  Potherie, 
torn,  iv.,  p.  110;   Charlevoix,  torn,  ii.,  p.  246. 


294  THE    COXaUEST    OF    CAN'ADA. 

southwest  of  New  France  there  flowed  a  vast  river,  called 
by  the  natives  Mechasepe,  whose  course  was  neither  toward 
the  great  lakes  to  the  north,  nor  the  Atlantic  to  the  east.  It 
was  therefore  surmised  that  this  unknown  flood  must  pour 
its  waters  either  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  or  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  wise  intendant  was  impressed  with  the  im- 
portance of  possessing  a  channel  of  navigation  to  the  waters 
of  the  south  and  west,  and  before  his  departure  from  America 
made  arrangements  to  have  the  course  of  the  mysterious 
stream*  explored.  He  intrusted  the  arduous  duty  to  Father 
Marquette,  a  pious  priest,  who  was  experienced  in  Indian 
travel,  and  an  adventurous  and  able  merchant  of  Quebec, 
named  Jolyet.  [1673.]  The  Comte  de  Frontenac  gave 
hearty  aid  to  this  expedition,  and  in  the  mean  time  he  him- 
self extended  the  line  of  French  settlement  to  the  shores  of 
I<ake  Ontario,!  built  there  the  fort  that  still  bears  his  name, 
and  opened  communication  with  the  numerous  tribes  west- 
ward of  the  Allegany  Mountains. 

The  exploring  party,  led  by  Marquette  $  and  Jolyet,  con- 

*  The  Mississippi. 

t  '■  Ce  lac  a  porte  quelque  terns  le  nom  de  St.  Loui.s,  ou  lui  donna 
ensuite  eelui  de  Frontenac,  aussi  bien  qu'au  fort  de  Catarocoui  dont 
le  Comte  de  Frontenac  fut  le  Ibndateur,  raais  in.sensiblement  le  lac  a 
repris  son  ancien  nom,  qui  est  Huron  ou  Iroquois,  et  le  fort  celui  du 
lieu  ou  il  est  bati  (1721)." — Charlevoix,  tom.  v.,  p.  287. 

t  "  Le  Pere  J.  Marquette,  natif  de  Laon  en  Picardie,  a  ete  un  des 
plus  illustres  missionnaires  de  la  Nouvelle  France ;  il  en  a  parcouru 
presque  toutes  les  contrees,  et  il  y  a  fait  plusieurs  decouvertes  dont  la 
derniere  est  celle  du  Micissipi.  Deux  ans  apres  cette  decouverte, 
comme  il  alloit  a  Michillimackinac,  il  entra  le  18me  de  May,  1675, 
dans  la  riviere  dont  il  s'agit ;  il  dressa  son  autel  sur  le  terrain  bas, 
qu'on  lassia  a  droite  en  y  entrant,  et  il  y  dit  la  messe.  II  s'eloigna, 
ensuite  un  peu  pour  fairc  son  action  de  graces,  et  pria  les  hommes  qui 
conduisoient  son  canot,  de  le  laisser  seul  pendant  une  deinie  heure. 
Ce  tems  pa.s.se,  ils  allerent  le  chercher,  et  furent  tres  surprLs  de  le 
trouver  mort,  ils  se  souvinrent  neanmoins  qu'en  entrant  dans  la 
riviere,  il  lui  etoit  t-chappc  de  dire  qu'il  finiroit  la  son  voyage.  Au- 
jourd'hui  les  .sauvages  n'appellent  cette  riviere  autrement  que  la 
riviere  de  la  robe  noire;'  les  Francois  lui  ont  donne  le  nom  du  Pere 
IVIarquette,  et  ne  mancjucnt  jamais  de  Tinvoqucr,  quand  ils  se  trouvent 
en  quelque  danger  sur  le  Luc  IMichigan.     Plusieurs  ont  assiare  qu'ils 

'  "  Les  sauvages  appellent  ainsi  les  J£suit(!9.  lis  nomment  les  PrCtres,  les  Collet* 
bUncs,  et  les  Recollets,  Ics  Robes  griscs." 


THE    rONQUKST    OV    CANADA.  '29't 

sisted  of  only  six  men,  in  two  little  bark  canoes  :  at  the 
very  outset  the  Indians  of  the  lakes  told  them  that  great 
and  terrible  dangers  would  beset  their  path,  and  recounted 
strange  tales  of  supernatural  difficulties  and  perils  for  those 
who  had  ventured  to  explore  the  mysterious  regions  of  the 
West.  Hearkening  carefully  to  whatever  useful  information 
the  natives  could  bestow,  but  despising  their  timid  warnings, 
these  adventurous  men  hastened  on  over  the  great  lakes  to 
the  northwestern  extremity  of  the  deep  and  stormy  Michigan, 
now  called  Green  Bay.  Numerous  Indian  tribes  wandered 
over  the  surrounding  country  ;  among  others,  the  Mi  amis, 
the  most  civilized  and  intelligent  of  the  native  race  that 
they  had  yet  seen.  Two  hunters  of  this  nation  undertook 
to  guide  the  expedition  to  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  great 
river  of  which  they  were  in  search.  The  French  were 
struck  with  wonder  at  the  vast  prairies  that  lay  around 
their  route  on  every  side,  monotonous,  and  apparently  bound- 
less as  the  ocean. 

The  Fox  River  was  the  stream  to  which  the  Miamis 
first  led  them.  Although  it  was  broad  at  its  entrance  into 
the  lake  the  upper  portion  was  divided  by  marshes  into  a 
labyrinth  of  narrow  channels  ;  as  they  passed  up  the  river, 
the  wild  oats  grew  so  thickly  in  the  water  that  the  adven- 
turers appeared  to  row  through  fields  of  corn.  After  a 
portage  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  they  launched  their  canoes  in 
the  Wisconsin  Pviver,  a  tributary  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
guides  left  them  to  find  their  v/ay  into  the  unknown  solitudes 
of  the  West.  Their  voyage  down  the  tributary  was  easy  and 
prosperous,  and  at  length,  to  their  great  joy,  they  reached 
the  magnificent  stream  of  the  Mississippi.  The  banks  were 
rich  and  beautiful,  the  trees  the  loftiest  they  had  yet  seen, 
and  wild  bulls  and  other  animals  roamed  in  vast  herds  over 
the  flowery  meadows.* 

For  more  than  200  miles  Marquette  and  his  companions 
continued  their  course  through  verdant  and  majestic  solitudes, 
where  no  sign  of  human  life  appeared.      At  length  the  foot- 

se  croyoient  redevables  a  son  intercession,  d'avoir  echappe  a  de  tres 
grands  perils." — Charlevoix,  torn,  vi.,  p.  21. 

*  Relation  de  Marquette  :   Recueil  ile  Thevenot,  torn.  i. 


296  THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

prints  of  men  rejoiced  their  sight,  and,  by  following  up  the 
track,  they  arrived  at  a  cluster  of  inhabited  villages,  where 
they  were  kindly  and  hospitably  received.  Their  hosts 
called  themselves  Illinois,  which  means  "  men"  in  the  native 
tongue,  and  is  designed  to  express  their  supposed  superiority 
over  their  neighbors.  Marquette  considered  them  the  most 
civilized  of  the  native  American  nations. 

Neither  fear  for  the  future  nor  the  enjoyment  of  present 
comfort  could  damp  the  ardor  of  the  French  adventurers  ; 
they  soon  again  launched  their  little  canoes  on  the  Father 
of  Waters,  and  followed  the  course  of  the  stream.  They 
passed  a  number  of  bold  rocks  that  rose  straight  up  from 
the  water's  edge  ;  on  one  of  these,  strange  monsters  were 
curiously  painted  in  brilliant  colors.  Soon  after  they  came 
to  the  place  where  the  great  Missouri  pours  its  turbid  and 
noisy  flood  into  the  Mississippi ;  and  next  they  reached  a 
lofty  range  of  cliffs,  that  stretched  nearly  across  from  bank 
to  bank,  breasting  the  mighty  stream.  With  great  difficulty 
and  danger  they  guided  their  little  canoes  through  these 
turbulent  waters.  They  passed  the  entrance  of  the  Ohio,* 
and  were  again  astonished  at  the  vast  size  of  the  tributaries 
which  fed  the  flood  of  the  mysterious  river.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  the  villages  on  the  banks  accepted  the  calumet  of 
peace,  and  held  friendly  intercourse  with  the  adventurers  ; 
and  although,  after  passing  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  River, 
a  proposition  was  made  in  the  council  of  one  tribe  to  slay 
and  rob  them,  the  chief  indignantly  overruled  the  cruel 
suggestion,  and  presented  them  with  the  sacred  pipe. 

At  the  village  where  they  were  threatened  with  this  great 
danger  they  were  inaccurately  informed  that  the  sea  was 
only  distant  fiv^e  days'  voyage.  From  this  the  travelers 
concluded  that  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  poured  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  not,  as  they  had  fondly  hoped,  into  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Fearing,  therefore,  that  by  venturing  fur- 
ther they  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
lose  all  the  fruits  of  their  toils  and  dangers,  they  determined 

*  The  sirrnification  of  the  word  Ohio  is  "  Beautiful  River."  Ac- 
cording to  Bancroft,  it  was  called  the  Wabash  in  La  Salle's  time,  and 
long  afterward. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  297 

to  reascend  the  stream  and  return  to  Canada.  After  a  long 
and  dreary  voyage,  they  reached  Chicago,  on  Lake  Michi- 
gan, where  the  adventurers  separated.  Father  Marquette 
remained  among  the  friendly  Miamis,  and  Jolyet  hastened 
to  Quebec  to  announce  their  discoveries.  Unfortunately, 
their  enlightened  patron,  M.  Talon,  had  already  departed 
for  France. 

There  chanced,  however,  to  be  at  Quebec  at  that  time  a 
young  Frenchman,  of  some  birth  and  fortune,  named  Robert 
Cavalier,  sieur  de  la  Salle,  ambitious,  brave,  and  energetic. 
He  had  emigrated  to  America  with  a  hope  of  gaining  fame 
and  wealth  in  the  untrodden  paths  of  a  new  world.  The 
first  project  that  occupied  his  active  mind  was  the  discovery 
of  a  route  to  China*  and  Japan,  by  the  unexplored  regions 
of  the  west  of  Canada.  The  information  brought  by  Jolyet 
to  Quebec  excited  his  sanguine  expectations.  Impressed 
with  the  strange  idea  that  the  Missouri  would  lead  to  the 
Northern  Ocean,  he  determined  to  explore  its  course,  and 
having  gained  the  sanction  of  the  governor,  sailed  for  France 
to  seek  the  means  of  fitting  out  an  expedition.  In  this  he 
succeeded  by  the  favor  of  the  Prince  of  Conti.  The  Chev- 
alier de  Tonti,  a  brave  officer,  who  had  lost  an  arm  in  the 
Sicilian  wars,  was  associated  with  him  in  the  enterprise. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1678,  La  Salle  and  Tonti  embarked 
at  Rochelle  with  thirty  men,  and  in  two  months  arrived  at 
Quebec.  They  took  Father  Hennepin  with  them,  and  hast- 
ened on  to  the  great  lakes,t  where  they  spent  two  years  in 

*  '■  La  Chine  is  a  fine  village  three  French  miles  to  the  southeast 
of  Montreal,  but  on  the  same  side,  close  to  the  River  St.  Lawrence. 
Here  is  a  church  of  stone,  with  a  small  steeple,  and  the  whole  place 
has  a  very  agreeable  situation.  Its  name  is  said  to  have  had  the  fol- 
lowing origin ;  As  the  unfortunate  M.  de  Sales  was  here,  who  was 
afterward  murdered  by  his  own  countrymen  further  up  the  country, 
he  was  very  intent  on  discovering  a  shorter  road  to  China  by  means 
of  the  River  St.  Lawrence.  He  talked  of  nothing  at  that  time  but  his 
new  .short  way  to  China;  but,  as  his  project  of  undertaking  this  jour- 
ney in  order  to  make  this  discovery  was  stopped  by  an  accident  which 
happened  to  him  here,  and  he  did  not  at  that  time  come  any  nearer 
China,  this  place  got  its  name,  as  it  were,  by  way  of  joke." — Kalni, 
in  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  699. 

t  See  Appendix,  No.  LXIV. 

N* 


298  THE  CONULEST  OF  CANADA. 

raising  forts  and  building  vessels  of  forty  or  fifty  tons  burden, 
and  carrying  on  the  fur  trade  with  the  natives.  The  party 
then  pushed  forward  to  the  extremity  of  Michigan.  Their 
friendly  relations  with  the  Indians  were  here  interrupted  by  a 
party  of  the  Outagamis  having  robbed  them  of  a  coat.  The 
French  held  a  council  to  devise  means  of  deterring  the  sav- 
ages from  such  depredations,  and  it  Avas  somewhat  hastily 
determined  to  demand  restitution  of  the  coat  under  the  threat 
of  putting  the  offending  chief  to  death.  The  Outagamis, 
having  divided  the  stolen  garment  into  a  number  of  small 
pieces  for  general  distribution,  found  it  impossible  to  comply 
with  this  requisition,  and  thinking  that  no  resource  remained, 
presented  themselves  to  the  French  in  battle  array.  How- 
ever, through  the  wise  mediation  of  Father  Hennepin,  the 
quarrel  was  arranged,  and  a  good  understanding  restored. 

La  Salle  now  set  out  with  a  party  of  forty-four  men  and 
three  Recollets,  top  ursue  his  cherished  object  of  exploring 
the  course  of  the  Mississippi.  He  descended  the  stream  of 
the  Illinois,  and  was  charmed  with  the  beauty  and  fertility 
of  the  banks  :  large  villages  rose  on  each  side  ;  the  first, 
containing  500  wooden  huts,  they  found  deserted,  but  in 
descending  the  river  they  suddenly  perceived  that  two  large 
bodies  of  Indians  were  assembled  on  opposite  banks,  in  order 
of  battle.  After  a  parley,  however,  the  Indians  presented 
the  calumet  of  peace,  and  entertained  the  strangers  at  a 
great  feast. 

The  discontents  among  his  own  followers  proved  far  more 
dangerous  to  La  Salle  than  the  caprice  or  hostility  of  the 
savages.  They  murmured  at  being  led  into  unknown  re- 
gions, among  barbarous  tribes,  to  gratify  the  ambition  of  an. 
adventurer,  and  determined  to  destroy  him  and  return  to 
France.  They  were  base  enough  to  tell  the  natives  that 
La  Salle  w^as  a  spy  of  the  Iroquois,  their  ancient  enemies, 
and  it  required  all  hi.s  genius  and  courage  to  remove  this 
idea  from  the  minds  of  the  ignorant  savages.  Failing  in 
this  scheme,  they  endeavored  to  poison  him  and  all  his  faith- 
ful adherents  at  a  Christmas  dinner;  by  the  use  of  timely  rem- 
edies, however,  the  intended  victims  recovered,  and  the  villains, 
having  fled,  were  in  vain  pursued  over  the  trackless  deserts. 


THE  CONaUEST  OT  CANADA.  299 

La  Salle  was  obliged  to  return  to  the  forts  for  aid,  on 
account  of  the  desertion  of  so  many  of  his  followers  ;  but  he 
sent  Father  Hennepin,  with  Dacan  and  three  other  French- 
men, to  explore  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  left  Tonti 
in  the  command  of  a  small  fort,  erected  on  the  Illinois,  which 
he,  however,  was  soon  obliged  to  desert,  in  consequence  of 
the  hostility  of  the  Iroquois.  La  Salle  collected  twenty 
men,  with  the  necessary  arms  and  provisions,  and,  unshaken 
by  accumulated  disasters,  determined  at  once  to  make  his 
way  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  down  the  course  of  the  Mississip- 
pi. He  passed  the  entrance  of  the  swollen  and  muddy  Mis- 
souri, and  the  beautiful  Ohio,  and,  still  descending,  traversed 
countries  where  dwelt  the  numerous  and  friendly  Chickasaw 
and  Arkansaw  Indians.  Next  he  came  to  the  Taencas,  a 
people  far  advanced  beyond  their  savage  neighbors  in  civili- 
zation, and  obeying  an  absolute  prince.  Farther  on,  the 
Natchez  received  him  with  hospitality ;  but  the  Quinipissas, 
who  inhabited  the  shores  more  to  the  south,  assailed  hira 
with  showers  of  arrows.  He  wisely  pursued  his  important 
journey  without  seeking  to  avenge  the  insult.  Tangibao, 
still  lower  down  the  stream,  had  just  been  desolated  by  one 
of  the  terrible  irruptions  of  savage  war  :  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  lay  piled  in  heaps  among  the  ruins  of  their  former  hab- 
itations. For  leagues  beyond,  the  channel  began  to  widen, 
and  at  length  became  so  vast  that  one  shore  was  no  longer 
visible  from  the  other.  The  water  was  now  brackish,  and 
beautiful  sea-shells  were  seen  strewn  along  the  shore.  They 
had  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Father  of 
Rivers. 

La  Salle  celebrated  the  successful  end  of  his  adventurous 
voyage  with  great  rejoicings.  Te  Deum  was  sung,  a  cross 
was  suspended  from  the  top  of  a  lofty  tree,  and  a  shield, 
bearing  the  arms  of  France,  was  erected  close  at  hand. 
They  attempted  to  determine  the  latitude  by  an  observation 
of  the  sun,  but  the  result  was  altogether  erroneous. 

The  country  immediately  around  the  outlet  of  this  vast 
stream  was  desolate  and  uninteresting.  Far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  swampy  flats  and  inundated  morasses  filled  the 
dreary  prospect.      Under  the  ardent  rays  of  the  tropical  sun, 


300  THK  CONUUE:Ji'  OF  CANADA. 

noisome  vapors  exhaled  from  the  rank  soil  and  sluggish  wa- 
ters, poisoning  the  breezes  from  the  southern  seas,  and  cor- 
rupting them  into  the  breath  of  pestilence.  Masses  of  float- 
ing trees,  whose  large  branches  were  scathed  by  months  of 
alternate  immersion  and  exposure,  during  hundreds  of  leagues 
of  travel,  choked  up  many  of  the  numerous  outlets  of  the 
river,  and,  cemented  together  by  the  alluvial  deposits  of  the 
muddy  stream,  gradually  became  fixed  and  solid,  throwing 
up  a  rank  vegetation.*  Above  this  dreary  delta,  however, 
the  country  was  rich  and  beautiful,  and  graceful  undulations 
succeeded  to  the  monotonous  level  of  the  lower  banks. 

After  a  brief  repose.  La  Salle  proceeded  to  re-ascend  the 
river  toward  Canada,  eager  to  carry  the  important  tidings 
of  his  success  to  France.  His  journey  was  beset  with  diffi- 
culties and  dangers.  The  course  of  the  stream,  though  not 
rapid,  perpetually  impeded  his  progress.  Provisions  began 
to  fail,  and  dire  necessity  drove  him  to  perilous  measures  for 
obtaining  supplies.  Having  met  with  four  Avomen  of  the 
hostile  tribe  of  the  Quinipissas,  he  treated  them  with  great 
kindness,  loading  them  with  such  gifts  as  might  most  win 
their  favor.  The  chief  of  the  savages  then  came  forward 
and  invited  the  French  to  his  village,  offering  them  the 
much-needed  refreshments  which  they  sought.  But  a  cruel 
treachery  lurked  under  this  friendly  seeming,  and  the  adven- 
turers were  only  saved  from  destruction  by  the  careful  vigi- 

*  "  This  is  tlie  site  of  \c\v  Orleans.  New  Orleans,  holding,  from 
its  position,  the  command  of  all  the  immense  navigable  river-courses 
of  interior  America,  is  making  the  most  rapid  progress  of  any  Amer- 
ican city,  and  will  doubtless  one  day  become  the  greatest  in  that  con- 
tinent— perhaps  even  in  the  world.  A  formidable  evil,  however,  ex 
ists  in  the  insalubrity  of  the  air,  arising  from  the  extensive  marshes 
and  inundated  grounds  which  border  the  lower  part  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  terrible  malady  that  Itears  the  name  of  the  yellow  fever,  makes 
its  first  appearance  in  the  early  days  of  August,  and  continues  till 
October.  During  that  era  New  Orleans  appears  like  a  deserted  city; 
all  who  possibly  can,  fly  to  the  north  or  the  upper  country ;  most  of 
the  shops  are  shut ;  and  the  silence  of  the  streets  is  only  interrupted 
by  the  sound  of  the  hearse  passing  through  them.  In  one  year  two 
thousand  died  of  this  fever.  Since  the  morasses  have  been  partially 
cleared,  its  ravages  have  been  less  destructive  ;  and,  as  this  work  is 
going  on,  the  city  may  hope,  in  lime,  to  be  almost  free  from  this  ter- 
rible scourge." — Murra}'"s  Jlmerira,  vol.  ii.,  p.  428. 


THE    CONClUEfJT    OK    CAIVADA.  301 

lance  of  their  leader.  At  daybreak  the  following  morning, 
the  Indians  made  a  sudden  attack  upon  their  guests  ;  the 
French,  however,  being  thoroughly  on  the  alert,  repulsed 
the  assailants,  and  slew  several  of  the  bravest  warriors. 
Infuriated  by  the  treachery  of  the  savages,  the  victors  fol- 
lowed the  customs  of  Indian  warfare,  and  scalped  thos  ■  of 
the  enemy  who  fell  into  their  power. 

As  they  ascended  the  river  they  were  again  endangered 
by  the  secret  hostility  of  the  Natchez,*  from  the  effects  of 
which  a  constant  front  of  preparation  alone  preserved  them. 
After  several  months  of  unceasing  toil  and  watchfulness,  with 
many  strange  and  romantic  adventures,  but  no  other  serious 
obstruction,  the  hardy  travelers  at  length  joyfully  beheld  the 
headland  of  Quebec. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival,  La  Salle  hastened  to  France 
to  announce  his  great  discovery,!  and  reap  the  distinction  justly 
due  to  his  eminent  merits.  [1682.]  He  was  received  with 
every  honor,  and  all  his  plans  and  suggestions  were  approved 
by  the  court.  Under  his  direction  and  command,  an  expe- 
dition was  fitted  out,  consisting  of  four  vessels  and  280  men, 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  thence  establishing  a  regular  communication 
with  Canada,  along  the  course  of  the  Great  River.  At  the 
same  time,  he  received  the  commission  of  governor  over  the 
whole  of  the  vast  country  extending  between  the  lakes  and 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  little  squadron  sailed  from  La 
Rochelle  on  the  24th  of  July,  1684,  along  with  the  West 
India  fleet,  and  having  touched  at  St.  Domingo  and  Cuba 
by  the  way,  arrived  in  safety  on  the  coast  of  Florida. 

La  Salle  was  involved  in  great  perplexity  by  ignorance 
of  the  longitude  of  the  river's  mouth.  Not  having  descended 
so  far  in  his  former  expedition  as  to  be  able  to  judge  of  its 

*  "  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  parle  de  cette  nation  comme  d'un  peuple 
puissant,  et  il  n'y  a  pas  six  ans  qu'on  y  comptoit  quatre  mille  guerriers. 
Aujourd'hui  les  Natchez  ne  pourroient  pas  mettre  sur  pied  deux  miile 
combattans  (1714)." — Charlevoix,  torn,  vi.,  p.  177. 

t  "  La  Louisiana  est  le  nom  que  M.  de  la  Sale  a  donne  au  pays 
qu'arrose  le  Mississippi  audessous  de  la  Riviere  des  Illinois  et  qu'il  a 
conserve  jusqu'a  present.  C"etoit  en  I'honneur  de  Louis  XIV.,  qui 
regnoit  alors  en  France." — Charlevoix,  torn.  ii..  p.  436. 


302  THE    CONQUEST    OF    CANADA. 

appearance  from  the  sea,  he  passed  the  main  entrance  of  the 
Mississippi  unawares,  and  proceeded  200  miles  to  the  west- 
ward, where  he  found  himself  in  a  bay,  since  called  St. 
JBernard's.  Attracted  by  the  favorable  appearance  of  the 
surrounding  country.  La  Salle  here  founded  the  fort  which 
was  to  be  the  basis  of  his  future  establishment.  But  diffi- 
culties and  misfortunes  crowded  upon  him  ;  the  vessel  con- 
taining his  stores  and  utensils  was  sunk  through  the  negli- 
gence or  treachery  of  her  commander,  and  a  great  portion  of 
the  cargo  lost  or  seized  by  the  Indians.  The  violent  meas- 
ures he  adopted  to  compel  restitution  of  the  plundered  goods 
kindled  a  deep  resentment  in  the  minds  of  this  fierce  and 
haughty  tribe,  the  Clamcoets  by  name.  They  made  a  sudden 
midnight  attack  upon  the  settlement,  slew  two  of  the  French, 
and  wounded  several,  and  whenever  opportunity  ofiered  after- 
ward, repeated  their  assaults.  The  tropical  climate,  however, 
proved  a  far  deadlier  foe  than  even  the  savage,  and  at  length  the 
spirit  of  the  colonists  gave  way  under  accumulated  difficulties. 

Meanwhile  Tonti,  who  had  descended  the  Mississippi  to 
join  La  Salle,  sought  him  in  vain  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
and  along  the  coast  for  twenty  leagues  at  either  side.  Having 
found  no  trace  or  tidings  of  the  expedition,  he  relinquished 
the  search  in  despair,  and  sailed  upward  again  to  the  Cana- 
dian Lakes. 

La  Salle  bore  up  with  noble  courage  and  energy  against  the 
difficulties  that  surrounded  him.  His  subordinates  thwart- 
ed him  on  every  occasion,  and  at  length  broke  out  into  a  vio- 
lent mutiny,  which  he,  however,  vigorously  suppressed.  But 
when  he  discovered  that  the  settlement  founded  and  sustained 
by  his  unceasing  labors  was  not,  as  he  had  fondly  supposed, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  River,  he  experienced  the  bitterest 
disappointment.  The  surrounding  country,  though  fertile, 
ofiered  no  brilliant  prospect  of  sudden  wealth  or  hopes  of 
future  commerce.  He  determined,  therefore,  once  again  to 
explore  the  vast  streams  of  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois,  and 
to  endeavor  to  gain  a  greater  knowledge  of  the  interior  of 
the  continent.  He  took  with  him  on  this  expedition  his 
nephew,  a  worthy  but  impetuous  youth,  named  Moranger, 
and  about  twenty  men.      This  young  man's  haughty  spirit 


THE  COXaUEST  OF  CANADA.  303 

excited  a  savage  thirst  of  vengeance  in  the  minds  of  his 
uncle's  lawless  followers ;  they  watched  their  opportunity, 
and  in  a  remote  and  dreary  solitude  in  the  depths  of  the 
new  continent,  La  Salle  and  Moranger  were  both  slain  by 
their  murderous  hands.  Thus  sadly  perished,  in  a  nameless 
wilderness,  one  of  the  most  daring  and  gifted  among  those 
wonderful  men  to  whom  the  discovery  of  the  New  World 
had  opened  a  field  of  glory.  His  temper  was,  doubtless,  at 
times,  violent  and  overbearing,*  but  he  was  dearly  loved  by 
'his  friends,  respected  by  his  dependents,  and  fondly  revered  by 
those  among  the  Indians  who  came  within  his  influence.  His 
greatest  difficulties  arose  from  those  who  were  placed  under 
his  command,  abandoned  and  ungovernable  men,  the  very 
refuse  of  society,  and  amenable  to  no  laws,  human  or  divine. 
It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  La  Salle  had  sent 
Dacan  and  Father  Hennepin  to  explore  the  Mississippi,  on 
his  first  return  from  the  Illinois  to  Lake  Michigan.  They 
descended  that  great  river  almost  to  the  sea  ;  but  their  fol- 
lowers, becoming  alarmed  at  the  idea  of  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  Spaniards,  compelled  them  to  return  without 
having  perfected  their  expedition.  They  re-ascended  the 
stream,  and  passed  the  mouths  of  the  Illinois  and  Wisconsin, 
and  even  reached  beyond  those  magnificent  falls  to  which  the 
adventurous  priest  has  given  the  name  of  St.  Anthony.  Con- 
tinual danger  threatened  these  travelers,  from  the  caprice  or 
hostility  of  the  Indians  ;  they  were  held  for  a  long  time  in 
a  cruel  captivity,  forced  to  accompany  their  captors  through 
the  most  difficult  countries,  at  a  pace  of  almost  incredible 
rapidity,  till,  with  their  feet  and  limbs  cut  and  bleeding, 

*  Charlevoix  thus  speaks  of  the  selection  of  M.  de  la  Sale  by  M. 
de  Seignelay:  "II  n'est  point  de  vertu  qui  ne  soit  melee  de  quelque 
defaut :  c'est  le  sort  ordinaire  de  I'humanite.  Ce  qui  met  le  comble 
a  notre  humiliation,  c'est  que  les  plus  grands  defauts  accompagnent 
souvent  les  plus  eminentes  quaiites,  et  que  la  jalousie  que  celles-ci 
inspirent  trouve  presque  tonjours  dans  ceux-la  un  specieux  pretexte 
pour  couvrir  ce  que  cette  passion  a  de  has  et  d'injuste.  C'est  a  ceux 
qui  sont  etablis  pour  gouverner  les  hommes  a  se  faire  jour  pour  sortir 
de  cette  labyrinthe,  a  degager  le  vrai  des  tenebres  dont  la  passion  veut 
I'offusquer,  et  a  connoitre  si  bien  ceux  dont  ils  veulent  se  servir,  qu'en 
leur  donnent  lieu  de  faire  usage  de  ce  qu'ils  ont  de  bon,  ils  se  precau- 
tionnent  sur  ce  qu'ils  ont  de  mauvais." — Charlevoix,  torn,  ii.,  p.  2. 


iiOl  THi:    OOXaUEST    OF    CANADA. 

they  were  well-nigh  incapable  of  moving  any  further.  After 
some  time  Hennepin  was  adopted  by  a  chief  as  his  son,  and 
treated  with  much  kindness  ;  when  winter  came  on,  how- 
ever, and  a  great  scarcity  of  provisions  arose,  the  Indians, 
being  unable  any  longer  to  support  their  captives,  allowed 
them  to  depart.  The  father  and  his  companions  used  this 
liberty  to  continue  their  explorations  down  the  Mississippi. 
After  many  other  perils  and  adventures,  they  at  length  met 
the  Sieur  de  Luth,  who  commanded  a  party  sent  in  search 
of  them,  and  with  further  instructions  to  form  a  settlement 
on  the  Great  River.  Hennepin  at  first  turned  back  with 
the  sieur,  but  found  so  many  obstacles  and  difficulties  that 
he  determined  for  the  present  to  return  to  Canada. 

The  disasters  attending  the  expeditions  of  La  Salle  and 
Hennepin  for  some  time  deterred  others  from  venturing  to 
explore  the  dangerous  regions  of  the  West,  and  the  govern- 
ment totally  neglected  to  occupy  the  splendid  field  which  the 
adventure  of  those  men  had  opened  to  French  enterprise. 
It  was  left  to  the  love  of  gain  or  glory,  or  the  religious  zeal 
of  individuals,  to  continue  the  explorations  of  this  savage  but 
magnificent  country.  The  Baron  la  Hontan  w^as  one  of  the 
first  and  most  conspicuous  of  these  dauntless  travelers.*  He 
had  gone  to  Canada  in  early  life  with  a  view  of  retrieving 
the  broken  fortunes  of  his  ancient  family,  and  had  obtained 
employment  upon  the  lakes  under  the  French  government. 
While  thus  occupied,  he  became  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  life  and  customs  of  the  savages,  and,  from  his  intercourse 
with  them,  formed  the  idea  of  penetrating  into  the  interior 
of  their  country,  where  the  white  man's  foot  had  never  be- 
fore trodden.  His  actual  discoveries  were  probably  not  very 
important,  and  his  record  of  them  is  confused  and  imperfect ; 
but  he  was  the  first  to  learn  the  existence  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  of  that  vast  ocean  which  separates  the  western 
coast  of  North  America  from  the  continent  of  Asia.^f 

*  Memoircs  dc  V Ameriquc  Scptcntj-ionale  par  M.  le  Baron  de  la 
Hontan:  ii  Amsterdam,  1705.  For  the  clKiraetcrol" these  memoirs,  see 
Charlevoix,  torn.  vi..  p.  408.    They  are  translated  in  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii. 

t  The  North  Pacific  Ocean.  The  South  Pacific  Ocean  had  been 
discovered  by  the  Spaniard  Balboa  in  lol3. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

An  embittered  disagreement  between  the  governor  gen- 
eral, Comte  de  Frontenac,  and  the  intendant,  M.  de  Cheneau, 
M.  Talon's  successor,  rendered  it  necessary  to  recall  both 
those  officers  from  the  colony.  The  French  court  attributed 
the  greater  share  of  blame  to  the  governor,  but  the  haughty 
and  unbending  disposition  of  the  intendant  was  probably  a 
principal  cause  of  those  untoward  disputes.  M.  le  Fevre 
de  la  Barre  and  M.  de  Meules  succeeded  them  in  their  re- 
spective offices,  with  special  recommendation  from  the  king 
to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  each  other,  and  with 
M.  de  Blenac,  the  governor  general  of  the  French  American 
islands. 

New  France  had  for  many  years  remained  in  a  state  of 
great  confusion,  and  had  made  but  little  progress  in  prosperity 
or  population,  and  now  the  prospects  of  a  disastrous  war 
darkened  the  future  of  the  colonists.  Various  causes  had 
united  to  revive  the  hostility  of  the  Iroquois,  their  ancient 
and  powerful  foes.  Since  New  York  had  fallen  into  English 
hands,  the  savages  found  it  more  advantageous  to  carry 
their  trade  thither  than  to  barter  their  furs  with  the  privi- 
leged company  of  France.  The  falling  off'  of  commercial 
intercourse  soon  led  to  further  alienation,  which  the  death 
of  an  Iroquois  chief  by  the  hands  of  an  Illinois,  in  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Ottawas,  then  allies  of  the  white  men,  soon  turned 
into  open  hostility.  The  Comte  de  Frontenac  had  failed  in 
his  attempts  to  negotiate  with  the  savages  ;  and  on  the  ar- 
rival of  his  successor,  an  invasion  of  the  colony  was  hourly 
expected.  M.  de  la  Barre  at  once  perceived  the  dangerous 
state  of  affairs  ;  he  therefore  summoned  an  assembly  of  all 
the  leading  men  in  the  country,  ecclesiastical,  civil,  and  mili- 
tary, and  demanded  counsel  from  them  in  the  emergency. 

The  assembly  was  of  opinion  that  the  Iroquois  aimed  at 
the  monopoly  of  all  the  trade  of  Canada,  by  the  instigation 


306  THE    CONai-'EST    OP    CANADA. 

of  the  English  and  Dutch  of  New  York,  who  were  also  sup- 
posed to  incite  them  to  enmity  against  the  French,  and  that, 
consequently,  those  nations  should  be  held  hostile.  It  was 
also  believed  that  the  savages  had  only  endeavored  to  gain 
time  by  their  negotiations,  while  they  either  destroyed  the 
tribes  friendly  to  the  colonists,  or  seduced  them  from  their 
alliance.  With  this  view  they  had  already  assailed  the 
Illinois,  and  it  was  therefore  the  duty  of  the  French  to  save 
that  nation  from  this  attack,  whatever  might  be  the  cost  or 
danger  of  the  enterprise.  For  that  purpose  the  colony  could 
only  furnish  1000  men;  and  to  procure  even  this  number, 
it  was  necessary  that  the  labors  of  husbandry  should  be  sus- 
pended. Re-enforcements  of  troops  and  a  supply  of  laborers 
were  therefore  urgently  required  for  the  very  existence  of  the 
settlements  ;  and  an  earnest  appeal  for  such  assistance  was 
forwarded  to  the  king,  as  the  result  of  the  deliberations  of 
the  assembly.  This  application  was  immediately  answered 
by  the  dispatch  of  200  soldiers  to  New  France,  and  by  a 
remonstrance  addressed  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  who 
instructed  Colonel  Dongan,  the  English  governor  of  New 
York,  to  encourage  more  friendly  relations  with  his  French 
neighbors. 

While  iNI.  de  la  Barre  pushed  on  his  preparations  for  war 
against  the  Iroquois,  he  still  kept  up  the  hope  of  treating 
with  them  for  peace  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  forfeit  the 
dignity  of  his  position.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  he  re- 
ceived intimation  that  a  formidable  expedition  of  1500  war- 
riors had  assembled,  ostensibly  to  wage  war  with  the  Illinois, 
but  in  reality  for  the  destruction  of  the  Miamis  and  Ottawas, 
both  allies  of  the  French.  The  governor  promptly  dispatched 
an  envoy,  who  arrived  at  the  village  where  the  Iroquois  had 
mustered  on  the  evening  of  the  day  appointed  for  the  begin- 
ning of  their  campaign.  The  envoy  was  received  with  dig- 
nity and  kindness  ;  and  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  promise 
that  the  expedition  should  be  deferred,  and  that  they  would 
send  deputies  to  Montreal  to  negotiate  with  the  French 
chief  But  the  wily  savages  had  promised  only  to  deceive; 
and  in  the  month  of  May  following,  the  governor  received 
intelligence  that  700  of  these  fierce  warriors  were  on  their 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  307 

march  to  attack  his  Miami  and  Ottawa  allies,  while  another 
force  was  prepared  to  assail  the  settlements  of  the  French 
themselves.  He  attributed  these  dangerous  hostilities  to  the 
instigation  of  the  English. 

The  governor  made  urgent  representations  to  the  minister 
at  home  as  to  the  necessity  of  crushing  two  of  the  Iroquois 
tribes,  the  most  hostile  and  the  most  powerful.  For  this 
purpose,  he  demanded  that  a  re-enforcement  of  400  men 
should  be  sent  to  him  from  France  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
that  an  order  should  be  obtained  from  the  Duke  of  York,  to 
whom  New  York  then  belonged,  to  prevent  the  English  from 
interfering  with  or  thwarting  the  expedition. 

The  Iroquois  found  the  free  trade  with  the  English  and 
Dutch  more  advantageous  than  that  with  the  French,  which 
was  paralyzed  by  an  injudicious  monopoly  ;  but  they  were 
still  unwilling  to  come  to  an  open  rupture  with  their  power- 
ful neighbors.  They  therefore  sent  deputies  to  Montreal  to 
make  great  but  vague  professions  of  attachment  and  good 
will.  For  many  reasons,  De  la  Barre  placed  but  little  con- 
fidence in  these  addresses :  their  object  was  obviously  to  gain 
time,  and  to  throw  the  French  off  their  guard.  He,  how- 
ever, received  the  deputies  with  great  distinction,  and  sent 
them  back  enriched  with  presents.  But  a  few  months  after 
this,  however,  a  small  detachment  of  Frenchmen  was  assailed 
by  the  Iroquois,  and  plundered  of  merchandize  which  they 
wei'e  bearing  to  ti-affic  with  the  Illinois. 

After  this  flagrant  outrage,  nothing  remained  for  M.  de  la 
Barre  but  war.  He  had  received  intelligence  that  the  Iro- 
quois were  making  great  preparations  for  an  onslaught  upon 
the  French  settlements,  and  that  they  had  sent  embassadors 
to  the  Indians  of  the  south  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  peace 
in  that  quarter,  while  they  threw  all  their  power  into  the 
struggle  with  the  hated  pale  faces.  The  governor  promptly 
determined  to  adopt  the  bolder  but  safer  course  of  striking 
the  first  blow,  and  making  the  cantons  of  his  savage  enemies 
the  field  of  battle.  As  yet,  few  and  small  were  the  aids  he 
had  received  from  France,  and  a  considerable  time  must 
elapse  ere  the  further  supplies  he  anticipated  could  arrive  : 
he  was,  therefore,  unwillingly  compelled  to  avail  himself  of 


308  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  assistance  of  his  Indian  allies.  The  native  tribes  dwell- 
ing around  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  entertained  a  deep 
and  ancient  jealousy  of  the  powerful  confederacy  of  the  Iro- 
quois or  Five  Nations,  who  aspired  to  universal  dominion 
over  the  Northern  Continent ;  they,  therefore,  held  them- 
selves equally  interested  with  the  French  in  the  destruction 
of  those  formidable  warriors.  M.  de  la  Durantaye,  who  com- 
manded the  fort  on  the  far-distant  shores  of  Lake  Michigan, 
announced  to  his  Indian  neighbors  that  his  countrymen 
were  about  to  march  against  the  Iroquois,  and  requested  that 
all  the  native  warriors  friendly  to  the  white  men  should  meet 
them  in  the  middle  of  August  at  Niagara.  He  was  not, 
however,  very  successful  in  making  levies,  and  with  difficulty 
led  500  warriors  to  the  place  of  meeting,  where,  to  his  dis- 
may, he  found  that  the  French  had  not  arrived  :  his  follow- 
ers were  not  easily  reconciled  to  this  disappointment. 

In  the  mean  time,  M.  de  la  Barre  had,  on  the  9th  of 
July,  1683,  marched  from  Quebec  to  Montreal,  where  he 
appointed  the  troops  to  assemble  for  the  expedition.  No 
precautions  to  insure  success  were  neglected.  He  dispatched 
a  message  to  the  English  governor  of  New  York  to  invite 
him  to  join  in  the  attack,  or,  at  least,  to  secure  his  neutral- 
ity. He  also  sent  belts  and  presents  to  three  of  the  Iroquois 
tribes,  to  induce  them  to  refrain  from  joining  in  the  quarrel 
of  those  among  their  confederates  who  alone  had  injured  him 
and  his  nation.  He  arrived  at  Montreal  on  the  21st,  with 
700  Canadians,  130  soldiers,  and  200  Indians:  his  force 
was  organized  in  three  divisions.  After  a  brief  stay  he  con- 
tinued his  march  westward. 

The  governor  had  not  proceeded  far  when  he  received 
intelligence  that  the  other  Iroquois  tribes  had  obliged  the 
Tsonnonthouans,  his  especial  enemies,  to  accept  of  their 
mediation  with  the  French,  and  that  they  demanded  the 
Sieur  Ic  Moyne,  in  whom  they  placed  much  confidence,  to 
conduct  the  negotiation.  At  the  same  time,  he  learned  that 
the  tribe  he  proposed  to  assail  had  put  all  their  provisions 
into  a  place  of  security,  and  were  prepared  for  a  protracted 
and  harassing  resistance.  His  appeals  both  to  the  remain- 
ing Iroquois  tribes  and  to  the  English  had  also  failed,  for  the 


Tiic  coxaui:^T  of  canaua.  309 

former  would  assuredly  make  common  cause  against  him  in 
case  of  his  refusing  their  mediation,  and  the  latter  had  actu- 
ally offered  to  aid  his  enemies  with  400  horse,  and  a  like 
force  of  infantry.  Influenced  by  these  untoward  circum- 
stances, he  dispatched  M.  le  IMoyne  to  treat,  and  agreed  to 
await  the  Iroquois  deputies  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario. 
In  the  mean  time,  M.  de  la  Barre  and  his  army  underwent 
great  privations  from  the  scarcity  and  bad  quality  of  their 
provisions  ;  they  could  with  difficulty  hold  their  ground  till 
the  arrival  of  the  savages,  and  such  was  their  extremity  that 
the  name  of  the  Bay  of  Famine  was  given  to  the  scene  of 
their  su  fieri  ngs. 

The  savage  deputies  met  the  French  chief  with  great 
dignity,  and,  well  aware  of  the  advantage  given  them  by  the 
starvation  and  sickness  of  the  white  men,  carried  their  nego- 
tiations with  a  high  hand.  They  guaranteed  that  the 
Tsonnonthouans  should  make  reparation  for  the  injuries  in- 
flicted on  the  French,  but  at  the  same  time  insisted  that  the 
governor  and  his  army  should  retire  the  very  next  day. 
With  this  ignoble  stipulation  M.  de  la  Barre  was  fain  to 
agree.  On  his  return  to  Quebec,  he  found,  to  his  chagrin, 
that  considerable  re-enforcements  had  just  arrived  from 
France,  which  would  have  enabled  him  to  dictate  instead 
of  submitting  to  dictation.  The  new  detachment  was  com- 
manded by  MM.  Monterlier  and  Desnos,  captains  of  marine, 
who  were  commissioned  by  the  king  to  proceed  to  the  most 
advanced  and  important  posts,  and  to  act  independently  of 
the  governor's  authority.  They  were  further  instructed  to 
capture  as  many  of  the  Iroquois  as  possible,  and  to  send  them 
to  France  to  labor  in  the  galleys.  In  this  same  year  the 
Chevalier  de  Callieres,  an  officer  of  great  merit,  was  sent 
from  France  to  assume  the  duties  of  governor  of  the  Montreal 
district,  as  successor  to  M.  Perrot,  who  had  embroiled  himself 
with  the  members  of  the  powerful  Order  of  St.  Sulpicius. 

In  the  year  1685,  the  Marquis  de  Denonville  arrived  at 
Quebec  as  governor  general  in  succession  to  M.  de  la  Barre, 
whose  advanced  age  and  failing  health  unfitted  him  for  the 
arduous  duties  of  the  office.  The  new  governor  was  selected 
by  the  king  for  his  known  valor  and  prudence  ;   a  re-enforce- 


310  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ment  of  troops  was  placed  at  his  disposal,  and  it  M^as  determ- 
ined to  spare  no  effort  to  establish  the  colony  in  security 
and  peace.  Denonville  lost  not  a  moment  in  proceeding  to 
the  advanced  posts  on  the  lakes,  and,  at  the  same  time,  he 
devoted  himself  to  a  diligent  study  of  the  affairs  of  Canada 
and  the  character  of  the  Indians.  His  keen  perception 
promptly  discovered  the  impossibility  of  the  Iroquois  being 
reconciled  and  assimilated  to  the  French,  and  he  at  once 
saw  the  necessity  of  extirpating,  or  at  least  thoroughly 
humbling,  these  haughty  savages.  But  beyond  the  present 
dangers  and  difficulties  of  Indian  hostihty,  this  clear-sighted 
politician  discerned  the  far  more  formidable  evils  that  threat- 
ened the  power  of  his  country  from  the  advancing  encroach- 
ments of  the  hardy  traders  and  fearless  adventurers  of  the 
English  colonies.  He  urged  upon  the  king  the  advantage 
of  building  and  garrisoning  a  fort  at  Niagara  to  exclude  the 
British  from  the  traffic  of  the  lakes,  and  interrupt  their 
communications  with  the  Iroquois,  and  also  to  check  the 
desertion  of  the  French,  who  usually  escaped  by  that  route, 
and  transferred  the  benefits  of  their  experience  and  knowledge 
of  the  country  to  the  rival  colonies.  The  Northwest  Com- 
pany of  merchants  at  Quebec  earnestly  desired  this  establish- 
ment, and  engaged  to  pay  an  annual  rent  of  30,000  livres 
to  the  crown  for  the  privilege  of  exclusive  trade  at  the  pro- 
posed station. 

The  suspicions  of  the  Marquis  de  Denonville  as  to  English 
encroachments  were  soon  confirmed.  He  received  a  letter 
from  the  governor  of  New  York,  dated  29th  of  May,  1686, 
demanding  explanations  of  the  preparations  which  were  being 
made  against  the  Iroquois — the  subjects  of  England — as  any 
attack  upon  them  would  be  a  breach  of  the  peace  then  ex- 
isting between  England  and  France.  The  British  governor 
also  expressed  surprise  that  the  French  should  contemplate 
erecting  a  fort  at  Niagara,  "  because  it  should  be  known  in 
Canada  that  all  that  country  was  a  dependency  of  New 
York."  M.  de  Denonville,  in  reply,  denied  the  pretensions 
of  the  English  to  sovereignty  in  New  France,  and  pointed 
out  the  impropriety  of  hostile  communications  between  in- 
feriors,  while   the   kings   whom   they    served   remained   on 


THE    COiVaUEST    OK    CANADA.  311 

amicable  terms.  He  rendered,  however,  some  sort  of  evasive 
explanation  on  the  subject  of  his  preparations  against  the 
Iroquois. 

The  following  year  the  governor  general  received  from 
the  court  the  notification  of  a  most  important  agreement  be- 
tween England  and  France,  that,  "  notwithstanding  any 
rupture  between  the  mother  countries,  the  colonies  on  the 
American  continent  should  remain  at  peace."  Unfortunately, 
however,  the  force  of  national  prejudice,  and  the  clashing  of 
mutual  interests,  rendered  this  wise  and  enlightened  pro- 
vision totally  fruitless. 

In  the  summer  of  1687,  M.  de  Denonville  marched  to- 
ward Lake  Ontario  with  a  force  of  2000  French  and  600 
Indians,  having  already  received  all  the  supplies  and  re-en- 
forcements which  he  had  expected  from  France.  His  first 
act  of  aggression  was  one  that  no  casuistry  can  excuse,  no 
necessity  justify — one  alike  dishonorable  and  impolitic.  He 
employed  two  missionaries,  men  of  influence  among  the  sav- 
ages, to  induce  the  principal  Iroquois  chiefs  to  meet  him  at 
the  fort  of  Cataracouy,  under  various  pretenses ;  he  there 
treacherously  seized  the  unsuspecting  savages,  and  instantly 
dispatched  them  to  Quebec,  with  orders  that  they  should  be 
forwarded  to  France  to  labor  in  the  galleys.  The  mission- 
aries who  had  been  instrumental  in  bringing  the  native 
chiefs  into  this  unworthy  snare  were  altogether  innocent  of 
participation  in  the  outrage,  never  for  a  moment  doubting 
the  honorable  intentions  of  their  countrymen  toward  the  In- 
dian deputies.  One,  who  dwelt  among  the  Onneyouths,  was 
immediately  seized  by  the  exasperated  tribe,  and  condemned 
to  expiate  the  treachery  of  his  nation,  and  his  own  supposed 
guilt,  in  the  flames.  He  was,  however,  saved  at  the  last 
moment  by  the  intervention  of  an  Indian  matron,  who  adopt- 
ed him  as  her  son.  The  other  —  Lamberville  by  name — 
was  held  in  great  esteem  among  the  Onnontagues,  to  whose 
instruction  he  had  devoted  himself.  On  the  first  accounts 
of  the  outrage  at  Cataracouy,  the  ancients  assembled  and 
called  the  missionary  before  them.  They  then  declared 
their  deep  indignation  at  the  wrong  which  they  had  suffer- 
ed ;  but,  at  the  moment  when  their  prisoner  expected  to  feel 


312  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  terrible  effects  of  their  wrath,  a  chief  arose,  and  with  a 
noble  dignity  addressed  him  : 

"  Thou  art  now  our  enemy — thou  and  thy  race.  We 
have  held  counsel,  and  can  not  resolve  to  treat  thee  as  an 
enemy.  We  know  thy  heart  had  no  share  in  this  treason, 
though  thou  wert  its  tool.  We  are  not  unjust ;  we  will 
not  punish  thee,  being  innocent,  and  hating  the  crime  as 
much  as  we  do  ourselves.  But  depart  from  among  us  ; 
there  are  some  who  might  seek  thy  blood  ;  and  when  our 
young  men  sing  the  war-song,  we  may  be  no  longer  able  to 
protect  thee."  The  magnanimous  savages  then  furnished 
him  with  guides,  who  were  enjoined  to  convey  him  to  a 
place  of  safety. 

M.  de  Denonville  halted  for  some  time  at  Cataracouy, 
and  sent  orders  to  the  commanders  of  the  distant  western 
posts  to  meet  him  on  the  10th  of  July  at  the  River  Des 
Sables,  to  the  eastward  of  the  countrj'  of  the  Tsonnonthou- 
ans,  against  whom  they  were  first  to  act.  The  governor 
marched  upon  this  point  with  his  army,  and,  by  an  accident 
of  favorable  presage,  he  and  the  other  detachments  arrived 
at  the  same  time.  They  immediately  constructed  an  in- 
trenchment,  defended  by  palisades,  in  a  commanding  situa- 
tion over  the  river,  where  their  stores  and  provisions  were 
safely  deposited.  M.  d'Orvilliers,  with  a  force  of  400  men, 
was  left  for  the  jirotection  of  this  depot,  and  to  insure  the 
rear  of  the  advancing  army. 

On  the  13  th  the  French  pushed  into  the  hostile  country, 
and  passed  two  deep  and  dangerous  defiles  without  opposi- 
tion, but  at  a  third  they  were  suddenly  assailed  by  800  of 
the  Iroquois,  who,  after  the  first  volley,  dispatched  200  of 
their  number  to  outflank  the  invaders,  while  they  continued 
the  front  attack  with  persevering  courage.  The  French 
were  at  first  thrown  into  some  confusion  by  this  fierce  and 
unexpected  onslaught  ;  but  the  allied  savages,  accustomed 
to  the  forest  warfare,  boldly  held  their  ground,  and  effectual- 
ly covered  the  rallying  of  the  troops.  The  Iroquois,  having 
failed  in  overpowering  their  enemies  by  surprise,  and  con- 
scious of  their  inferiority  in  numbers  and  arms,  after  a  time 
broke  their  array  and  dispersed   among  the  woods.      The 


THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA,  313 

French  lost  five  men  killed  and  twenty  wounded  ;  the  Iro- 
quois sufiered  far  more — forty-five  were  left  dead  upon  the 
field,  and  sixty  inore  disabled  in  the  conflict.  The  Ottawas, 
serving  under  M.  de  Denonville,  who  had  been  by  no  means 
forward  in  the  strife,  with  savage  ferocity  mangled  and  de- 
voured the  bodies  of  the  slain.  The  Hurons,  and  the  Iro- 
quois Christians  following  the  French  standard,  fought  with 
determined  bravery. 

The  array  encamped  in  one  of  the  four  great  villages  of 
the  Tsonnonthouans,  about  eight  leagues  from  the  fort  at 
the  River  Des  Sables :  they  found  it  totally  deserted  by  the 
inhabitants,  and  left  it  in  ashes.  For  ten  days  they  marched 
through  the  dense  forest  with  great  hardship  and  difficulty, 
and  met  with  no  traces  of  the  enemy,  but  they  marked  their 
progress  with  ruin  :  they  burned  about  400,000  bushels  of 
corn,  and  destroyed  a  vast  number  of  hogs.  The  general, 
fearing  that  his  savage  allies  would  desert  him  if  he  con- 
tinued longer  in  the  field,  was  then  constrained  to  limit  his 
enterprise.  He,  however,  took  this  opportunity  of  erecting 
a  fort  at  Niagara,  and  left  the  Chevalier  de  la  Troye  with 
100  men  in  garrison.  Unfortunately,  a  deadly  malady  soon 
after  nearly  destroyed  the  detachment,  and  the  post  M'^as 
abandoned  and  dismaiitled.  The  constant  and  harassing 
enmity  of  the  savages  combined  with  the  bad  state  of  the 
provisions  left  in  the  fort,  to  render  the  disease  which  had 
broken  out  so  fatal  in  its  results. 

The  French  had  erected  a  fort  called  Chambly,*  in  a 
strong  position  on  the  left  bank  of  the  important  River 
Richelieu. t      This  little  stronghold  effectually  commanded 

*  Afterward  called  Sorel. 

t  The  River  Iroquois,  or  Sorel.  "  Dans  les  premieres  annces  de 
noire  etablissement  en  Canada  les  Iroquois,  pour  faire  des  courses 
jusque  dans  le  centre  de  nos  habitations,  descenderent  cette  riviere  a 
iaquelle  pour  cette  raison  on  donna  le  nom  de  riviere  des  Iroquois. 
On  I'a  depuis  appelle  la  Riviere  de  Richelieu,  a  cause  d'un  fort  qui 
portoit  ce  nom  et  qu'on  avoit  construit  a  son  embouchure.  Ce  fort 
ayant  ote  ruine,  M.  de  Sorel  en  fit  construire  un  autre  auquel  on 
donna  sou  nom:  ce  nom  s'est  communique  a  la  riviere  qui  le  conserve 
encore  aujourd'hui,  quoique  le  fort  ne  subsiste  plus  depuis  longtems 
(1721)." — Charlevoix,  torn,  v.,  p.  221. 

"  There  is  another  Iroquois  river  marked  on  the  French  maps,  fall- 
VOL.   I. — O 


314  THE  CONUUEST  OF  CANADA. 

the  navigation  of  the  stream,  and  through  it,  the  communi- 
cation between  Lake  Champlain  and  the  southern  districts 
with  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  On  the  13th  of 
November,  1G87,  a  formidable  party  of  the  Iroquois  sud- 
denly attacked  the  fort ;  the  little  garrison  made  a  stout 
defense,  and  the  assailants  abandoned  the  field  with  the 
morning  light ;  the  settlement  Avhieh  had  grown  up  in  the 
neighborhood  was,  however,  ravaged  by  the  fierce  Indians, 
and  several  of  the  inhabitants  carried  away  into  captivity. 
The  .French  attributed  this  unexpected  invasion  to  the  in- 
stigation of  their  English  neighbors,  and  it  would  appear 
with  reason,  for,  on  the  failure  of  the  assault,  the  governor 
of  New  York  put  his  nearest  town  into  a  state  of  defense,  as 
if  in  expectation  of  reprisals. 

In  this  same  year  there  fell  upon  Canada  an  evil  more 
severe  than  Indian  aggression  or  English  hostility.  Toward 
the  end  of  the  summer  a  deadly  malady  visited  the  colony, 
and  carried  mourning  into  almost  every  household.  So  great 
was  the  mortality,  that  M.  de  Denonville  was  constrained  to 
abandon,  or  rather  defer,  his  project  of  humbling  the  pride 
and  power  of  the  Tsonnonthouans.  He  had  also  reason  to 
doubt  the  faith  of  his  Indian  alhes  ;  even  the  Hurons  of  the 
far  West,  who  had  fought  so  stoutly  by  his  side  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  were  discovered  to  have  been  at 
the  time  in  treacherous  correspondence  with  the  Iroquois. 

While  doubt  and  disease  paralyzed  the  power  of  the 
French,  their  dangerous  enemies  were  not  idle.  Twelve 
hundred  Iroquois  warriors  assembled  at  Lake  St.  Francis, 
within  two  days'  march  of  Montreal,  and  haughtily  demand- 
ed audience  of  the  governor,  which  was  immediately  grant- 
ed. Their  orator  proclaimed  the  power  of  his  race  and  the 
weakness  of  the  white  men  with  all  the  emphasis  and  strik- 
ing illustration  of  Indian  eloquence.  He  offered  peace  on 
terms  proposed  by  the  governor  of  New  York,  but  only  al- 
lowed the  French  four  days  for  deliberation. 

This  high-handed  diplomacy  was   backed  by  formidable 

ing  into  the  Teakiki.  It  received  this  name  from  a  defeat  experienced 
by  the  Iroquois  from  the  Illinois,  a  race  whom  thoy  had  always  de- 
spised."— Charlevoix,  vol.  vi.,  p.  118. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  315 

demonstrations.  The  whole  country  west  of  the  Pwiver  So- 
rel,  or  E^icheUeu,  was  occupied  by  a  savage  host,  and  the 
distant  fort  of  Cataracouy,  on  the  Ontario  shore,  was  with 
difficulty  held  against  800  Iroquois,  who  had  burned  the 
farm  stores  with  flaming  arrows,  and  slain  the  cattle  of  the 
settlers.  The  French  bowed  before  the  storm  they  could 
not  resist,  and  peace  was  concluded  on  conditions  that  war 
should  cease  in  the  land,  and  all  the  allies  should  share  in 
the  blessings  of  repose.  M.  de  Denonville  further  agreed  to 
restore  the  Indian  chiefs  who  had  been  so  treacherously  torn 
from  their  native  wilds,  and  sent  to  labor  in  the  galleys  of 
France. 

But,  in  the  mean  time,  some  of  the  savage  allies,  dis- 
daining the  peaceful  conclusions  of  negotiation,  waged  a 
merciless  war.  The  Abenaquis,  always  the  fiercest  foes  of 
the  Iroquois  confederacy,  took  the  field  while  yet  the  con- 
ferences pended,  and  fell  suddenly  upon  the  enemy  by  the 
banks  of  the  Sorel.  They  left  death  behind  them  on  their 
path,  and  pushed  on  even  into  the  English  settlements, 
where  they  slew  some  of  the  defenseless  inhabitants,  and 
carried  away  their  scalps  in  savage  triumph.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Iroquois  of  the  Rapids  of  St.  Louis  and  the 
Mountain,  made  a  deadly  raid  into  the  invaders'  territories. 

The  Hurons  of  Michillimakinac  were  those  among  the 
French  allies  who  most  dreaded  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty 
of  which  they  feared  to  become  the  first  victims.  Through 
the  extraordinary  machinations  and  cunning  of  their  chief, 
Kondiaronk,  or  the  Hat,  they  continued  to  reawaken  the 
suspicions  of  the  Iroquois  against  the  French,  and  again 
strove  to  stir  up  the  desolating  flames  of  war. 

In  the  midst  of  these  renewed  difficulties  M.  de  Denon- 
ville was  recalled  to  Europe,  his  valuable  services  being 
required  in  the  armies  of  his  king.  In  colonial  administra- 
tion he  had  shown  an  ardent  zeal  for  the  interests  of  the 
sovereign  and  the  country  imder  his  charge,  and  his  plans 
for  the  improvement  of  Canada  were  just,  sound,  and  com- 
prehensive, but  he  was  deficient  in  tenacity  of  purpose,  and 
not  fortunate  or  judicious  in  the  selection  of  those  who 
enjoyed  his  confidence.      His  otherwise  honorable  and  useiul 


316  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

career  can,  however,  never  be  cleansed  irom  the  fatal  blot 
of  one  dark  act  of  treachery.  From  the  day  when  that  evil 
deed  was  done,  the  rude  but  magnanimous  Indian  scorned 
as  a  broken  reed  the  sullied  honor  of  the  French. 

The  Comte  de  Frontenac  was  once  again  selected  for  the 
important  post  of  governor  of  New  France,  and  arrived  at 
Montreal  on  the  27th  of  October,  1689,  where  his  prede- 
cessor handed  over  the  arduous  duties  of  office.  The  state 
of  New  France  was  such  as  to  demand  the  highest  qualities 
in  the  man  to  whose  rule  it  was  intrusted  :  trade  languished, 
agriculture  was  interrupted  by  savage  aggression,  and  the 
very  existence  of  the  colony  threatened  by  the  growing 
power  of  the  formidable  Iroquois  confederacy.  At  the  same 
time,  a  plan  for  the  reduction  of  New  York  was  being  or- 
ganized in  Paris,  which  would  inevitably  call  for  the  co- 
operation of  the  colonial  subjects  of  France,  and,  in  the 
event  of  failure,  leave  them  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  danger- 
ous quarrel.  M.  de  Frontenac  was  happily  selected  in  this 
time  of  need. 

Impelled  by  the  treacherous  machinations  of  the  Huron 
chief  Kondiaronk,  the  Iroquois  approached  the  colony  in  very 
different  guise  from  that  expected.  While  M.  de  Denou- 
ville  remained  in  daily  hopes  of  receiving  a  deputation  of  ten 
or  twelve  of  the  Indians  to  treat  for  peace,  he  was  astounded 
by  the  sudden  descent  of  1200  warriors  upon  the  island 
of  Montreal.*     Terrible  indeed  was  the  devastation  they 

*  Charlevoix  says  of  Montreal  in  1721,  "Ella  n'est  point  fortifiee, 
une  simple  palisade  bastionnee  et  assez  raal  entretenuo  fait  toute  sa 
defence,  avec  une  assez  mauvaise  redoute  sur  un  petit  tertre,  qui 
sert  de  boulevard,  et  va  se  terminer  en  douce  pente  a  une  petite 
place  quarree.  C'est  ce  qu'on  rencontre  d'abord  en  arrivant  de  Quebec. 
11  n'y  a  pas  raeme  quarante  ans,  que  la  ville  etoit  toute  ouverte,  et 
tous  les  jours  exposee  a  ctre  brulee  par  les  sauvages  ou  par  les  Anglois. 
Ce  fut  le  Chevalier  de  Callieres,  frcrc  du  plenipotentiaire  de  Riswick, 
qui  la  fit  fermer,  tandis  qu'il  en  etoit  gouvcrneur.  On  projette  depuis 
quelques  annees  de  I'environner  de  murailles, '  mais  il  ne  sera  pas 
aise  d'engager  les  habitans  a  y  contribuer.  lis  sont  braves  et  lis  ne 
sont  pas  riches  :  on  les  a  deja  trouve  difficiles  a  persuader  de  la  ne- 
cessite  de  cettc  depense,  et  fort  cr)nvaincus  que  leur  valeur  est  plus  que 
snfflsante  pour  dofendre  leur  ville  centre  quiconque  osoit  I'attaquer." 
'  "C«  projet  est  presentement  ©ler.ut*   J?*/)  " 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  317 

caused  ;  blood  and  ashes  marked  their  path  to  within  three 
leagues  of  the  territory,  where  they  blockaded  two  forts, 
after  having  burned  the  neighboring  houses.  A  small  force 
of  100  soldiers  and  50  Indians,  imprudently  sent  against 
these  fierce  marauders,  was  instantly  overpowered,  and  taken 
or  destroyed.  When  the  work  of  destruction  was  completed, 
the  Iroquois  re-embarked  for  the  Western  lakes,  their  canoes 
laden  with  plunder,  and  200  prisoners  in  their  train. 

This  disastrous  incursion  filled  the  French  with  panic 
and  astonishment.  They  at  once  blew  up  the  forts  of 
Cataracouy  and  Niagara,  burned  two  vessels  built  under 
their  protection,  and  altogether  abandoned  the  shores  of  the 
Western  lakes.  The  year  was  not,  however,  equally  un- 
fortunate in  all  parts  of  New  France.  While  the  island 
of  Montreal  was  swept  by  the  storm  of  savage  invasion,  M, 
d'Iberville  supported  in  the  north  the  cause  of  his  country, 
and  the  warlike  Abenaquis  avenged  upon  the  English  set- 
tlers the  evils  which  their  Iroquois  allies  had  inflicted  upon 
Canada.  Upon  his  arrival,  the  Cointe  de  Frontenac  de- 
termined to  restore  the  falling  fortunes  of  his  people  by 
means  of  his  great  personal  influence  among  the  triumphant 
Iroquois,  backed  as  he  was  with  the  presence  of  those  pris- 
oners who  had  been  so  treacherously  seized  by  his  predeces- 
sor, but  whose  entire  confidence  and  good-will  he  had  acquired 
while  bringing  them  back  to  their  native  country.  A  chief 
named  Oureouhare,  the  most  distinguished  among  the  cap- 
tives, undertook  to  negotiate  with  his  countrymen — a  duty 
which  was  performed  more  honestly  than  efficiently  :  an 
exchange  of  prisoners  took  place,  but  nothing  further  was 
accomplished. 

The  Northern  Indians,  allies  of  the  French,  had  long 
desired  to  share  the  benefits  of  English  commerce  with  the 
Iroqviois  ;  it  had,  however,  been  the  policy  of  the  Canadian 
government  to  keep  these  red  tribes  continually  at  war, 
with  the  view  of  interrupting  the  communications  of  traffic 
through  their  country.  But  the  allied  savages  soon  began 
to  see  the  necessity  of  making  peace  with  the  Iroquois,  in 
order  to  establish  relations  with  the  traders  of  the  British 
settlements.      AVith  this  view  the  Ottawas  sent  embassadors 


318  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

to  the  cantons  of  the  Five  Nations,  restoring  the  prisoners 
captured  iu  the  war,  and  proflering  peace  and  amity.  The 
agents  and  missionaries  of  the  French  strongly  remonstrated 
against  these  proceedings,  but  in  vam ;  their  former  allies 
replied  by  insulting  declarations  of  independence,  and  con- 
temptuous scoffs  at  their  want  of  power  and  courage  to 
meet  the  enemy  in  the  field  ;  their  commerce,  too,  was 
spoken  of  as  vmjust,  injurious,  and  inferior  to  that  of  the 
English,  of  which  they  had  endeavored  to  deprive  those 
Avhom  they  could  not  protect  in  war  ;  the  French  were  also 
accused  of  endeavoring  to  shelter  themselves  under  a  dis- 
honorable treaty,  regardless  of  the  safety  and  interests  of  the 
Indians  who  had  fought  and  bled  in  their  cause. 

When  M.  de  Frontenac  became  aware  of  this  formidable 
disaffection,  he  boldly  determined  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  En- 
glish power  that  should  restore  the  military  character  of 
France  among  the  savages,  and  deprive  the  recreant  Indians 
of  their  expected  succor.  He  therefore  organized  three  ex- 
peditions to  invade  the  British  settlements  by  different 
avenues.  The  first,  consisting  of  11 0  men,  marched  from 
Montreal,  destined  for  New  York,  but  only  resulted  in  the 
surprise  and  destruction  of  the  village  of  Corlar,*  or  Sche- 
nectady, and  the  massacre  and  capture  of  some  of  the  inhab- 
itants. They  retreated  at  noon  the  following  day,  bearing 
with  them  forty  prisoners  ;  after  much  suffering  from  want 
of  provisions,  they  were  obliged  to  separate  into  small  par- 
ties, when  they  were  attacked  by  their  exasperated  enemies, 
and  sustained  some  loss.  Many  would  have  perished  from 
hunger  in  this  retreat,  but  that  they  found  a  resource  in 
living  upon  horse  flesh  :   their  cavalry,  from  fifty,  was  re- 

*  "  Corlar  was  the  name  of  a  Dutchman  of  consideration,  who 
founded  the  village  of  Schenectady.  This  man  enjojcd  great  in- 
fluence with  the  Indians,  who,  after  his  death,  always  addressed  the 
governor  of  New  York  with  the  title  of  Corlar.  as  the  name  most 
expressive  of  respect  with  which  they  were  acquainted." — Graham, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  288. 

"  Au-dessus  de  la  ville  d'Orange  il  y  a  un  fort  avcc  une  bourgade, 
qui  confinent  avec  les  cantons  Iroquois,  et  qu'on  ajipelle  Corlar,  d"ou 
ces  sauvages  se  sont  accoutumes  a  donncr  Ic  nom  de  Corlar  au 
gouverneur  de  New  York." — Charlevoi.x,  torn,  i.,  p.  222. 


TIIK    CONaURST    Ol'    t;ANAnA.  319 

diiccd   to    six    by    the   lime    Ihcy    regained   the   shelter   of 
Montreal. 

The  second  invading  division  was  mnstercd  at  Three 
Rivers,  and  only  nund)ered  lilly  men,  half  being  Indians. 
They  reached  an  English  settlement,  called  Semcntels 
(Salmon  Falls),  after  a  long  and  difficult  march  and  suc- 
ceeded in  surprising  and  destroying  the  village,  with  most  of 
its  defenders.  In  their  retreat  they  were  sharply  attacked, 
but  succeeded  in  escaping,  through  the  aid  of  an  advan- 
tageous post,  which  enabled  thenr  to  check  the  pursuers  at 
a  narrow  bridge.  They  soon  after  fell  in  with  M.  de 
Mamerval,  governor  of  Acadia,  with  the  third  party,  and, 
thus  re-enlorced,  assailed  the  fortified  village  of  Kaskebe 
upon  the  sea-coast,  which  surrendered  after  a  heavy  loss  of 
tlie  defenders. 

'Vn  vpg:iin  the  conficlenee  ol'  his  Indian  allies,  M.  de  Fron- 
tonac  saw  the  necessity  of  rendering  them  independent  of  En- 
glish commerce,  and  saft  from  the  hostility  of  the  Iroquois. 
To  accomplish  these  objects,  he  dispatched  a  large  convoy  to 
the  west,  escorted  by  14:3  men,  and  bearing  presents  to  the 
savage  chiefs.  On  the  way  they  encountered  a  party  of  the 
Five  Nations,  and  defcjaled  them  after  a  sanguinary  engage- 
ment. 

All  these  vigorous  measures  produced  a  marked  effect : 
the  convoy  arrived  at  Miehillimakinac  at  the  time  when  the 
embassadors  oi'  the  French  allies  were  on  the  point  of  dejjarting 
to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  Iroquois.  When,  however, 
the  strength  of  the  detachment  was  seen,  and  the  valuable 
presents  and  merchandise  were  displayed,  the  French  interests 
again  revived  w^ith  the  politic  savages,  and  they  hastened  to 
give  jjroofs  of  their  renewed  attachment :  1 1 0  canoes,  bearing 
furs  to  the  value  of  100,000  crowns,  and  manned  by  IJOO 
Indians,  were  dispatched  soon  alter  for  Montreal,  to  be  laid 
befi)ro  the  governor  general,  lie  dismissed  the  escort  with 
]n-esent8,  and  exhorted  them  and  their  luition  to  join  with 
him  in  humbling  their  mutual  and  deadly  foe.  They  departed 
well  ])Ieased  with  their  reception,  and  renewed  professions  of 
iViendshi])  for  the  French. 

la  the  uieaii  lime  the  terrible  war-cry  of  the  Iroquois  was 


320  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

never  silent  in  the  Canadian  settlements.  Bands  of  these 
fierce  and  merciless  warriors  suddenly  emerged  from  the  dense 
forests  when  least  expected,  and  burst  upon  isolated  posts  and 
villages  with  more  or  less  success,  but  always  with  great  loss 
of  life  to  the  assailants  and  assailed,*  and  Avith  great  destruc- 
tion of  the  fruits  of  industry.  These  disastrous  events  caused 
much  disquietude  to  the  governor.  He  called  to  his  counsels 
the  Iroquois  chief  Oureouhare,  who  still  remained  attached 
to  him  by  the  closest  bonds  of  friendship  and  esteem,  and 
complained  of  the  bitter  hostihty  of  his  nation  :  "You  must 
either  not  be  a  true  friend,"  said  M.  de  Frontenac,  "  or  you 
must  be  powerless  in  your  nation,  to  permit  them  to  wage 
this  bitter  war  against  me."  The  generous  chief  Avas  morti- 
fied at  this  discourse,  and  answered  that  his  remaining  with 
the  French,  instead  of  returning  to  liis  own  hunting  grounds, 
where  he  was  ardently  beloved,  was  a  proof  of  his  fidelity,  and 
that  he  was  ready  to  do  any  thing  that  might  be  required 
of  him,  but  that  it  would  certainly  ^eed  time  and  the  course 
of  circumstances  to  allay  the  fury  of  his  people  against  those 
who  had  treacherously  injured  them.  The  governor  C0(uld 
not  but  acknowledge  the  justice  of  Oureouhare's  reply  ;  he  gave 
him  new  marks  of  esteem  and  friendship,  and  determined 
more  than  before  to  confide  in  this  wise  and  important  ally.t 

*  "  Colden  relates  that,  during  the  war  between  the  French  and 
Iroquois,  two  old  nien  were  cut  to  pieces,  and  put  into  the  war-kettle 
for  the  Christian  Indians  to  feast  on." — Colden,  vol.  i.,  p.  81. 

"  Frontenac  stands  conspicuous  among  all  his  nation  for  deeds  of 
cruelty  to  the  Indians.  Nothing  was  more  common  than  for  his  Indian 
])risoners  to  be  given  up  to  his  Indian  allies  to  be  tormented.  One  of 
the  most  horrible  of  these  scenes  on  record  was  perpetrated  under  his 
own  eyo  at  Montreal  in  1691." — Colden,  vol.  i.,  p.  441,  quoted  by 
Howitt. 

"Les  habitans  en  firent  bruler,  persuades  que  le  seul  raoyen  de  cor- 
riger  ces  barbares  de  leurs  cruautcs,  etoit  de  les  traiter  eux-mcme  comme 
ils  traitoient  les  autres." — Charlevoix,  Jcsuitc,  torn,  iii.,  p.  139. 

t  "Oureouhare  mourut  en  vrai  Chretien,  Tan  1697.  Le  mission-' 
naire  qui  I'assista  pendant  sa  maladie,  lui  parlant  un  jour  des  opprobres 
et  des  ignominies  de  la  passion  du  Sauveur  des  hommes ;  il  entra  dans 
un  bi  grand  mouvement  d'indignation  contrc  les  Juifs,  qu'il  s'ecria, 
'  Que  n'etois-je  la  ?  je  les  aurois  bien  empeche  de  traiter  ainsi  mon 
Dieu.'  The  similar  exclamation  of  the  Frank  monarch,  Clovis,  is  well 
known." — Charlevoix,  torn,  iii.,  p.  332. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  321 

But  now  the  greatest  clanger  that  had  ever  yet  menaced 
the  power  of  France  upon  the  American  continent  hung 
over  the  Canadian  shores.  Tiie  men  of  New  England 
were  at  last  aroused  to  activity  by  the  constant  inroads  and 
cruel  depredations  of  their  northern  neighbors,  and  in  April, 
1G90,  dispatched  a  small  squadron  from  Boston,  which  took 
possession  of  Port  Royal  and  all  the  province  of  Acadia. 
In  a  month  the  expedition  returned,  with  sufficient  plunder 
to  repay  its  cost.  Meanwhile  the  British  settlers  deputecT 
six  commissioners  to  meet  at  New  York  in  council  for  their 
defense.  On  the  first  of  May,  1690,  these  deputies  assem- 
bled, and  promptly  determined  to  set  an  expedition  on  foot 
for  the  invasion  of  Canada.  Levies  of  800  men  were  or- 
dered for  the  purpose,  the  contingents  of  the  several  states 
fixed,  and  general  rules  appointed  for  the  organization  of  their 
army.  A  fast-sailing  vessel  was  dispatched  to  England  with 
strong  representations  of  the  defenseless  state  of  the  British 
colonies,  and  with  an  earnest  appeal  for  aid  in  the  projected 
invasion  of  New  France ;  they  desired  that  ammunition  and 
other  warlike  stores  might  be  supplied  to  their  militia  for  the 
attempt  by  land,  and  that  a  fleet  of  EngUsh  frigates  should 
be  directed  up  the  River  St.  Lawrence  to  co-operate  with  the 
colonial  force.  But  at  that  time  England  was  still  too  much 
weakened  by  the  unhealed  wounds  of  domestic  strife  to  afford 
any  assistance  to  her  American  children,  and  they  were 
thrown  altogether  on  their  own  resources. 

New  York  and  New  England  boldly  determined,  unaided, 
to  prosecute  their  original  plans  against  Canada.  General 
Winthrop,  with  800  men,  was  marched  by  the  way  of  Lake 
Champlain,  on  the  shores  of  which  he  was  to  have  met  500 
of  the  Iroquois  warriors ;  but,  through  some  unaccountable 
jealousy,  only  a  small  portion  of  the  politic  savages  came  to 
the  place  of  muster.  Other  disappointments  also  combined 
to  paralyze  the  British  force  :  the  Indians  had  failed  to 
provide  more  than  half  the  number  of  canoes  necessary  for 
the  transport  of  the  troops  across  the  lake,  and  the  contractor 
of  the  army  had  imprudently  neglected  to  supply  sufficient 
provisions.  No  alternative  remained  for  Winthrop  but  to 
fall  back  upon  Albany  for  subsistence. 


322  THE    CONaUEST    OF    CA^JADA. 

In  the  mean  time,  Major  Schuyler,  who  had  before  crossed 
Lake  Champlaiii  with  a  smaller  British  force,  pushed  on 
against  the  French  post  of  La  Prairie  de  la  Madeleine,  and 
attacked  it  with  spirit.  He  soon  overcame  the  handful  of 
Canadian  militia  and  Indians  who  formed  the  garrison,  and 
compelled  them  to  fall  back  upon  Chambly,  a  fort  further  to 
the  north.  Having  met  M.  de  Sanermes  and  a  considerable 
force  advancing  to  their  relief,  they  turned  and  faced  their 
pursuers.  Schuyler  rashly  ventured  to  attack  this  now 
superior  enemy  ;  he  was  soon  forced  to  retire,  with  the  loss 
of  nearly  thirty  men.  The  French,  however,  sufiered  much 
more  severely  in  this  affair,  no  less  than  thirteen  officers  and 
nearly  seventy  of  their  men  having  been  killed  and  wounded. 

The  naval  expedition  against  Quebec  was  assembled  in 
Nantasket  Road,  near  Boston,  and  consisted  of  thirty-five 
vessels  of  various  size,  the  largest  being  a  44-gun  liigate. 
Nearly  2000  troops  were  embarked  in  this  squadron,  and 
the  chief  command  was  confided  by  the  people  of  New 
England  to  their  distinguished  countryman.  Sir  William 
Phipps,  a  man  of  humble  birth,  whose  own  genius  and  merit 
had  won  for  him  honor,  power,  and  universal  esteem.  The 
direction  of  the  fleet  was  given  to  Captain  Gregory  Sugars. 
The  necessary  preparations  were  not  completed,  and  the  fleet 
did  not  get  under  way  till  the  season  was  far  advanced; 
contrary  winds  caused  a  still  further  delay  ;  however,  several 
French  posts  on  the  shores  of  Newfoundland  and  of  the 
Lower  St.  Lawrence  were  captured  without  opposition,  and 
the  British  force  arrived  at  Tadoussac,  on  the  Saguenay,  be- 
fore authentic  tidings  of  the  approaching  danger  had  reached 
Quebec. 

When  the  brave  old  Frontenac  learned  from  his  scouts 
that  Winthrop's  corps  had  retreated,  and  that  Canada  was 
no  longer  threatened  by  an  enemy  from  the  landward  side, 
he  hastened  to  the  post  of  honor  at  (Quebec,  while  by  his 
orders  M.  de  Ramsey  and  M.  do  Callicres  assembled  the 
hardy  militia  of  Three  Pi.ivers  and  the  adjoining  settlements 
to  re-enforce  him  with  all  possible  dispatch.  The  governor 
found  that  Major  Provost,  who  commanded  at  (Quebec  before 
his  arrival,  had  made  vigorous  preparation  to  receive  the  in- 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  323 

vaders ;  *  it  was  only  necessary,  therefore,  to  continue  the 
works,  and  confirm  the  orders  given  by  his  worthy  deputy. 
A  party,  under  the  command  of  M.  de  Longueuil,  was  sent 
down  the  river  to  observe  the  motions  of  the  British,  and, 
if  possible,  to  prevent  their  landing.  At  the  same  time,  two 
canoes  were  dispatched  by  the  shallow  channel  north  of  the 
island  of  Orleans  to  seek  for  some  ships  with  supplies,  which 
were  daily  expected  from  France,  and  to  warn  them  of  the 
presence  of  the  hostile  fleet. 

The  Comte  de  Frontenac  continued  the  preparations  for 
defense  with  unwearied  industry.  The  regular  soldiers  and 
militia  were  alike  constantly  employed  upon  the  works,  till 
in  a  short  time  Quebec  was  tolerably  secure  from  the  chances 
of  a  sudden  assault.  Lines  of  strong  palisades,  here  and 
there  armed  with  small  batteries,  were  formed  round  the 
crown  of  the  lofty  headland,  and  the  gates  of  the  city  were 
barricaded  with  massive  beams  of  timber  and  casks  filled 
with  earth.  A  number  of  cannon  were  mounted  on  advan- 
tageous positions,  and  a  large  wind-mill  of  solid  masonry  was 
fitted  up  as  a  cavalier.  The  lower  town  was  protected  by 
two  batteries  each  of  three  guns,  and  the  streets  leading  up 
the  steep,  rocky  face  of  the  height  v/ere  embarrassed  with 
several  intrenchments  and  rows  of  "chevaux  de  frise."  Sub- 
sequently during  the  siege  two  other  batteries  were  erected 
a  little  above  the  level  of  the  river.  The  commanding  nat- 
ural position  of  the  stronghold,  however,  ofi^ered  far  more 
serious  obstacles  to  the  assailants  than  the  hasty  and  imper- 
fect fortifications. 

At  daylight  on  the  5th  of  October  the  white  sails  of  the 
British  fleet  were  seen  rounding  the  headland  of  Point  Sevi, 

*  "  It  does  not  appear  that  the  fortifications  of  Quebec  were  of  much 
importance  till  after  the  year  1690,  when  eleven  stone  redoubts  which 
served  as  bastions,  were  erected  in  different  parts  of  the  heights  of  the 
Upper  Town.  The  remains  of  several  of  these  redoubts  are  still  in 
existence.  They  were  connected  with  each  other  by  a  strong  line 
of  cedar  picketing,  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  banked  up  with  earth  on 
the  inside.  This  proved  sufficient  to  resist  the  attacks  of  the  hostile 
Indians  for  several  years." — Lambert's  Travels,  vol.  i.,  p.  39. 

"  In  1720  a  more  extensive  system  of  fortification  was  commenced, 
under  the  direction  of  M.  de  Lery." — Smith's  Canada,  vol.  i.,  p.  184. 


324  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

and  crowding  to  the  northern  shore  of  the  river,  near  the 
village  of  Beauport ;  at  about  ten  o'clock  they  dropped  an- 
chor, lowered  their  canvas,  and  swung  round  with  the  re- 
ceding tide.  There  they  remained  inactive  till  the  following 
morning.  On  the  6th,  Sir  William  Phipps  sent  a  haughty 
summons  to  the  French  chief,  demanding  an  unconditional 
surrender  in  the  name  of  King  William  of  England,  and 
concluding  with  this  imperious  sentence  :  "  Your  answer 
positive  in  an  hour,  returned  with  your  own  trumpet,  M^th 
the  return  of  mine,  is  required  upon  the  peril  that  will 
ensue." 

The  British  officer  who  bore  the  summons  was  led  blind- 
fold through  the  town,  and  ushered  into  the  presence  of 
Comte  Frontenac  in  the  council-room  of  the  castle  of 
Quebec.  The  bishop,  the  intendant,  and  all  the  principal 
officers  of  the  government  surrounded  the  proud  old  noble. 
"  Read  your  message,"  said  he.  The  Englishman  read  on, 
and  when  he  had  finished,  laid  his  watch  upon  the  table 
with  these  words  :  "It  is  now  ten  ;  I  await  your  answer 
for  one  hour."  The  council  started  from  their  seats,  sur- 
prised out  of  their  dignity  by  a  burst  of  sudden  anger.  The 
comte  paused  for  a  time  ere  he  could  restrain  his  rage  suf- 
ficiently to  speak,  and  then  replied,  "  I  do  not  acknowledge 
King  William,  and  I  well  know  that  the  Prince  of  Orange 
is  a  usurper,  who  has  violated  the  most  sacred  rights  of 

blood  and  religion who  wishes  to  persuade  the  nation 

that  he  is  the  saviour  of  England  and  the  defender  of  the 
faith,  though  he  has  violated  the  laws  and  privileges  of  the 
Icingdom,  and  overturned  the  Church  of  England  :  this  con- 
duct, the  Divine  Justice  to  which  Phipps  appeals  w^ill  one 
day  severely  punish." 

The  British  officer,  unmoved  by  the  storm  of  indignation 
which  his  message  had  aroused,  desired  that  this  fierce  reply 
should  be  rendered  to  him  in  writing  for  the  satisfaction  of 
his  chief  "I  will  answer  your  master  by  the  mouth  of  my 
cannon,"  replied  the  angry  Frenchman,  "  that  he  may  learn 
that  a  man  of  my  rank  is  not  to  be  summoned  in  this  man- 
ner."     Thus  ended  the  laconic  conference. 

On  the    return    of  the    messenger,   Sir   William   Phipps 


THE  CONaUEST  OP  CANADA.  325 

called  a  council  of  war :  it  was  determined  at  once  to  attack 
the  city.  At  noon,  on  the  8th,  1300  men  were  embarked 
in  the  boats  of  the  squadron,  under  the  command  of  Major 
Walley,  and  landed  without  opposition  at  La  Canardiere,  a 
little  to  the  east  of  the  River  St.  Charles.  While  the  main 
body  was  being  formed  on  the  muddy  shore,  four  companies 
pushed  on  toward  the  town,  in  skirmishing  order,  to  clear  the 
front ;  they  had  scarcely  begun  the  ascent  of  the  sloping 
banks  when  a  sharp  fire  was  poured  upon  them  by  300  of 
the  Canadian  militia,  posted  among  the  rocks  and  bushes  on 
either  flank,  and  in  a  small  hamlet  to  the  right.  Some  of 
the  British  winced  under  this  unexpected  volley,  fired,  and 
fell  back  ;  but  the  officers,  with  prompt  resolution,  gave  the 
order  to  charge,  and  themselves  gallantly  led  the  way  ;  the 
soldiers  followed  at  a  rapid  pace,  and  speedily  cleared  the 
ground.  Major  Walley  then  advanced  with  his  whole  force 
to  the  St.  Charles  River,  still,  however,  severely  harassed  by 
dropping  shots  from  the  active  light  troops  of  the  French  •. 
there  he  bivouacked  for  the  night,  while  the  enemy  retreated 
into  the  garrison. 

Toward  evening  of  the  same  day  the  four  largest  vessels 
of  Phipps's  squadron  moved  boldly  up  the  river,  and  anchored 
close  against  the  town.  They  opened  a  spirited  but  ineffect- 
ual fire  ;  their  shot,  directed  ^principally  against  the  lofty 
eminence  of  the  Upper  Town,  fell  almost  harmless,  while  a 
vigorous  cannonade  from  the  numerous  guns  of  the  forti'ess 
replied  with  overwhelming  power.  When  night  interrupted 
the  strife,  the  British  ships  had  suffered  severely,  their  rigging 
was  torn  by  the  hostile  shot,  and  the  crews  had  lost  many 
of  their  best  men.  By  the  first  hght  of  morning,  however, 
Phipps  renewed  the  action  with  pertinacious  courage,  but 
with  no  better  success.  About  noon  the  contest  became 
evidently  hopeless  to  the  stubborn  assailants  ;  they  weighed 
anchor,  and,  with  the  receding  tide,  floated  their  crippled  ves- 
sels down  the  stream,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  enemy's  fire.* 

*  The  flag  of  the  rear  admiral  was  shot  away,  and,  drifting  toward 
the  shore,  a  Canadian  swam  out  into  the  stream  and  brought  it  in 
triumphantly.  For  many  years  the  precious  trophy  was  hung  up  in 
the  parish  ehnroh  of  Quebec. 


32G  THE  CONaUKST  OF  CANADA. 

The  British  troops,  mulor  j\Iajor  Walley,  althou<jh  placed 
ill  battle  array  at  ilaylijrht,  roniaiiied  inactive,  throuj^h  some 
imaccountable  delay,  while  the  enemy's  attention  was  divert- 
ed by  the  combat  with  Phippss  squadron.  At  length,  about 
noon,  they  moved  upon  the  formidable  stronghold  along  the 
left  bank  of  the  River  St.  Charles.  Some  allied  savages 
plunged  into  the  bush  in  front  to  clear  the  advance,  a  lino 
of  skirmishers  protected  either  flank,  and  six  field-pieces  ac- 
companied the  march  of  the  main  body.  Alter  having  pro- 
ceeded for  some  time  without  molestation,  they  were  sudden- 
ly and  fiercely  assailed  by  200  Canadian  volunteers  under 
M.  de  Longueiiil ;  the  Indians  were  at  once  swept  away, 
the  skirmishers  overpowered,  and  the  British  column  itself 
was  forced  back  by  their  gallant  charge.  Walley,  however, 
drew  up  his  reserve  in  some  brushwood  a  little  in  the  rear, 
and  finally  compelled  the  enemy  to  retreat.  During  this 
smart  action,  M.  de  Frontenac,  with  three  battalions,  placed 
himself  upon  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  in  support  of 
the  volunteers,  but  showed  no  disposition  to  cross  the  stream. 
That  night,  the  English  troops,  harassed,  depressed,  dimin- 
ished in  numbers,  and  scantily  supplied,  again  bivouacked 
upon  the  marshy  banks  of  the  stream  :  a  severe  frost,  for 
which  they  were  but  ill  prepared,  chilled  the  weary  limbs 
of  tlie  soldiers  and  enhanced  their  sulU'rings. 

On  the  10th,  Walley  once  more  advanced  upon  the 
French  positions,  in  the  hope  of  breaching  their  palisades  by 
the  fire  of  his  field  pieces  ;  but  this  attempt  was  altogether 
unsuccessful.  His  Hanking  parties  fell  into  ambuscades,  and 
were  very  severely  handled,  and  his  main  body  was  ciiecked 
and  finally  repulsed  by  a  heavy  fire  from  a  fortified  house  on 
a  commanding  jiosition  which  he  had  ventured  to  attack. 
Utterly  disjjirited  by  this  failure,  the  British  fell  back  in 
some  confusion  to  the  landing-place,  yielding  up  in  one  hour 
what  they  had  so  hardly  won.  That  night  many  of  tho 
soldiers  strove  to  force  their  way  into  the  boats,  and  order 
was  with  great  dilliculty  restored  ;  the  next  day  they  were 
harassed  by  a  continual  skirmish.  Had  it  not  been  for  tlio 
gallant  conduct  of  "  Captain  March,  who  had  a  good  com- 
pany, and  made  the  enemy  give  back,"  the  confusion  would 


riii:  (;()Narji.:sr  of  canada.  327 

])robably  have  been  irrolriovablu!.  When  darkness  put  an 
cud  to  tlio  lire  on  bolli  sides,  the  ]*]uglish  troops  received 
orders  to  embark  in  the  boats,  half  a  regiment  at  a  time. 
Bill  all  order  was  soon  lost ;  four  times  as  many  as  the 
boats  could  sustain  crowded  down  at  onco  to  the  beach, 
rushed  into  the  water,  and  pressed  on  board.  The  sailors 
were  oven  forced  to  throw  some  of  these  panic-stricken  men 
into  the  river,  lest  all  should  sink  together.  The  noise  and 
confusion  increased  every  moment,  despite  the  utmost  exer- 
tions of  the  oflicers,  and  daylight  had  nearly  revealed  the 
dangerous  posture  of  affairs  beibro  the  embarkation  was 
coiriplcted.  The  guns  were  abandoned,  with  some  valuable 
stores  and  ammunition.  Had  the  French  displayed,  in  fol- 
lowing up  their  advantages,  any  portion  of  the  energy  and 
skill  whicli  had  been  so  conspicuous  in  their  successful  de- 
fense, the  British  detachment  must  infallibly  have  been  cither 
ca])tnred  or  totally  destroyed. 

Sir  William  Phipps,  having  failed  by  sea  and  land,  re- 
solved to  withdraw  from  the  disastrous  conilict.  Afler 
Bcvoral  inolfectual  attomj)ts  to  recover  the  guns  and  stores 
which  Major  Walley  had  been  forced  to  abandon,  he  weighed 
anchor  and  descended  the  St.  Lawrence  to  a  i)lace  about 
nine  miles  distant  I'rom  Quebec,  whence  he  sent  to  the 
Comte  de  Fr(uilenac  to  negotiate  for  an  exchange  of  prison- 
ers. Humbled  and  disappointed,  damaged  in  fortune  and 
reputation,  the  Knglish  chief  sailed  from  the  scene  of  his  de- 
feat ;  but  misfortune  had  not  yet  ceased  to  follow  him,  for 
he  left  the  shattered  wrecks  of  no  less  than  nine  of  his  ships 
among  the  dangerous  shoals  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  The 
government  of  Massachusetts  was  dismayed  at  the  disastrous 
news  of  which  .rhipj)s  was  himself  the  bearer.  lie  arrived 
at  Boston  on  the  19  th  of  November,  with  the  remains  of 
liis  Heet  and  army,  his  ships  damaged  and  weather  beaten, 
and  his  men  almost  in  a  state  of  mutiny  from  having  re- 
ceived no  pay.  In  these  straits  the  colonial  government 
found  it  impracticable  to  raise  money,  and  resorted  to  "  bills 
of  credit,"  tho  first  paper  money  which  had  ever  been  issued 
on  tho  American  continent. 

Groat  indeed  was  tho  joy  ami  triumph  of  the   French 


328  TIIK    COXaUEST    of    CANADA. 

when  the  British  fleet  disappeared  from  the  beautiful  basin 
of  Quebec.  Vv^ith  a  proud  heart  the  gallant  old  Comte  de 
Frontenac  penned  the  dispatch  which  told  his  royal  master 
of  the  victory.  He  failed  not  to  dwell  upon  the  distinguished 
merit  of  the  colonial  militia,  by  whose  loyalty  and  courage 
the  arms  of  France  had  been  crowned  with  success.  In 
grateful  memory  of  this  brave  defense,  the  French  king 
caused    a    medal    to    be    struck,    bearing    the    inscription, 

"  FRANCIA  IN  NOVO   ORBE  VICTRIX  :    KEBECA  LIBERATA. A.D., 

Ai.D.c.x.c."  In  the  lower  town  a  church  was  built  by  the 
inhabitants  to  celebrate  their  deliverance  from  the  British 
invaders,  and  dedicated  to  "Notre  Dame  de  la  Victoire." 

On  the  12  th  of  November,  the  vessels,  long  expected 
from  France,  arrived  in  safety  at  Quebec,  having  escaped 
the  observation  of  the  English  fleet  by  ascending  for  some 
distance  the  land-locked  M'aters  of  the  Saguenay.  Their 
presence,  however,  only  tended  to  increase  a  scarcity  then 
pressing  upon  the  colony,  the  labor  of  the  fields  in  the  pre- 
ceding spring  having  been  greatly  interrupted  by  the  harass- 
ing incursions  of  the  Iroquois.  The  troops  were  distributed 
into  those  parts  of  the  country  where  supplies  could  most 
easily  be  obtained,  and  were  cheerfully  received  by  those 
who  had  through  their  valor  been  protected  from  the  hated 
dominion  of  the  stranger. 


CHAPTER   XV. 


In  May,  1691,  the  Iroquois,  to  the  number  of  about  1000 
warriors,  again  poured  down  upon  the  settlements  near 
Montreal,  and  marked  their  course  with  massacre  and  ruin. 
Other  bands,  less  rmmerous,  spread  themselves  over  the 
fertile  and  beautiful  banks  of  the  Richelieu  Ptiver,  burning 
the  happy  homesteads  and  rich  store-yards  of  the  settlers. 
At  length,  the  Sieur  de  la  Mine,  with  a  detachment  of 
militia,  surprised  a  party  of  these  fierce  marauders  at  Saint 
Sulpice,   and  slew  them  without   mercy.      Twelve    of  the 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  329 

Iroquois  escaped  into  a  ruinous  house,  where  they  held  out  for 
a  time  with  courage  and  success  ;  but  the  French  set  fire  to 
the  building,  and  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  it :  some  were 
killed  in  their  efforts  to  escape,  but  five  fell  alive  into  the 
hands  of  their  exasperated  enemies,  and  were  burned,  Math  a 
savage  cruelty  such  as  they  themselves  would  have  exhibited. 

Intelligence  now  arrived  that  a  formidable  force  of  En- 
glish, Iroquois,  and  Mahingan  Indians  were  advancing  upon 
Montreal  by  the  River  Richelieu  or  Sorel ;  800  men  led 
by  the  Chevalier  de  Calleres,  were  sent  to  oppose  their 
progress,  and  encamped  on  the  Prairie  de  la  Madeleine,*  by 
the  borders  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Before  daylight,  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  the  invaders  carried  an  important  position 
by  surprise,  slaying  several  of  the  defenders,  and  finally  re- 
treated in  good  order  and  with  little  loss.  On  falling  back 
into  the  woods,  they  met  and  destroyed  a  small  French  detach- 
ment, and  buldly  faced  a  moi"e  considerable  force  under  M.  de 
Valrenes.  For  an  hour  and  half  these  formidable  warriors 
withstood  the  fire,  and  repelled  the  charges  of  the  Canadian 
troops  ;  but  at  length  they  were  overpowered  and  dispersed, 
not,  however,  before  inflicting  a  loss  of  no  less  than  120 
men  upon  their  conquerors.  An  Englishman  captured  in 
the  engagement  declared  that  the  invaders  had  purposed  to 
destroy  the  harvest,  which  would  have  reduced  the  colony 
to  the  last  extremity.  The  design,  in  a  great  measure, 
failed,  and  an  abundant  crop  repaid  the  industry  and  suc- 
cessful courage  of  the  French. 

At  the  first  news  of  this  alarming  inroad,  M.  de  Fron- 
tenac  hastened  to  the  post  of  danger,  but  tranquillity  had 
already  been  restored,  and  the  toils  of  the  husbandman  were 
again  plied  upon  the  scene  of  strife.  At  Montreal  he  found 
a  dispatch  from  the  governor  of  New  England,  proposing  an 
exchange  of  prisoners  and  a  treaty  of  neutrality  with  Canada, 

"  *  Vis  a  vis  de  Montreal,  du  cote  du  sud  est  un  endroit  qu'  on 
appelle  la  Prairie  de  la  Madeleine." — Charlevoix,  torn,  ii.,  p.  233. 

"  Le  Cap  de  la  Madeleine  a  eu  son  nom  de  I'Abbe  de  la  Made- 
leine, un  des  membres  de  la  Compagnie  des  cent  Associes."'  The 
name  of  the  Prairie  had  probably  the  same  oriffin. — Charlevoix, 
torn,  v.,  p.  167. 


330  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

notwithstanding'  the  war  then  carried  on  between  the  mother 
countries.  The  Canadian  governor  mistrusted  the  shicerity 
of  the  English  proposals,  and  they  were  not  productive  of 
any  result.  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  the  Iroquois 
continued  to  disturb  the  repose  of  the  colony  by  frequent 
and  mischievous  irruptions,  and  many  valuable  lives  were 
lost  in  repelling  those  implacable  savages. 

The  war  continued  with  checkered  results  and  heavy 
losses  on  both  sides  in  the  two  following  years.  An  invasion 
of  the  canton  of  the  Agniers,  by  the  French,  was  at  first 
successful,  but  in  the  retreat  the  colonists  suffered  great 
privation,  and  most  of  their  prisoners  escaped,  while  any  of 
their  number  that  strayed  or  fell  in  the  rear  were  immediately 
cut  off  by  their  fierce  pursuers.  The  fur  trade  was  also 
much  injured  by  these  long-continued  hostilities,  for  the 
vigilant  enmity  of  the  Troqunis  closed  up  the  communication 
*  with  the  Western  country  by  the  waters  uf  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  its  magnificent  tribvitaries. 

We  have  seen  that  for  a  long  period  the  history  of  the 
colony  is  a  mere  chronicle  of  savage  and  resultless  combats, 
and  treacherous  truces  between  the  French  and  the  formida- 
ble Iroquois  confederacy.  This  almost  perpetual  warfare  gave 
a  preponderance  to  the  military  interests  among  the  settlers, 
not  a  little  injurious  to  their  advance  in  material  prosperity. 
The  Comte  de  Frontenac  had,  by  his  vigorous  administra- 
tion, and  haughty  and  unbending  character,  rendered  him- 
self alike  respected  and  feared  by  his  allies  and  enemies. 
But,  while  all  acknowledged  his  courage  and  ability,  his 
system  of  internal  government  bore  upon  the  civil  inhabit- 
ants with  almost  intolerable  severity  ;  upon  them  fell  all 
the  burden  and  labor  of  the  wars  ;  they  were  ruined  by  un- 
profitable toil,  while  the  soldiers  worked  the  lands  for  the 
benefit  of  the  military  officers  whom  he  desired  to  conciliate. 
He  also  countenanced,  or  at  least  tolerated,  the  fatal  trade 
in  spirituous  liquors,  which  his  authority  alone  could  have 
su])prcsscd.  Owing  to  these  causes,  the  colony  made  but 
little  progress,  commerce  languished,  and  depression  and 
discontent  fell  upon  the  hearts  of  the  Canadian  people. 

In   the  year    1G'J5,  M.  de  Frontenac   re-established   the 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  331 

fort  of  Catarocouy,  despite  the  universal  disapprobation  of 
the  settlers  and  the  positive  commands  of  the  king.  The 
object  was,  however,  happily  and  ably  accomplished  by  M. 
de  Crisasy  in  a  very  short  time,  and  without  the  loss  of  a 
man.  This  brave  and  active  officer  made  good  use  of  his 
powerful  position.  He  dispatched  scouts  in  all  directions, 
and,  by  a  judicious  arrangement  of  his  small  forces,  checked 
the  hostilities  of  the  Iroquois  upon  the  Canadian  settlements. 

The  Sieur  de  Reverin,  a  man  of  enlightened  and  enter- 
prising mind,  had  long  desired  to  develop  the  resources  of 
the  Canadian  waters,  and  in  1697  at  length  succeeded  in 
associating  several  merchants  with  himself,  and  establishing 
a  fisher}'^  at  the  harbor  of  Mount  Louis,  among  the  mount- 
ains of  Notre  Dame,  half  way  between  Quebec  and  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  on  the  .southern  side. 
The  situation  was  well  chosen,  the  neighboring  soil  fertile, 
and  the  waters  abounded  in  fish.  But,  where  nature  had 
provided  every  thing  that  industry  could  require,  the  hand 
of  man  interfered  to  counteract  her  bounty.  The  hostility 
of  the  English  embarrassed  the  infant  settlement  and  alarmed 
its  founders.  Despite  of  these  difficulties,  a  plentiful  harvest 
and  successful  fishing  at  first  rewarded  the  adventurers  ; 
subsequently,  however,  they  were  less  fortunate,  and  the 
place  was  for  some  time  neglected  and  almost  forgotten.* 

Louis  de  Buade,  comte  de  Frontenac,  died  in  the  seventy- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  1698,  having  to  the  last  preserved 
that  astonishing  energy  of  character  which  had  enabled  him 
to  overcome  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  his  adventurous 
career.  He  died  as  he  had  lived,  beloved  by  many,  respected 
by  all ;  with  the  unaided  resources  of  his  own  strong  mind, 
he  had  preserved  the  power  of  France  on  the  American  con- 
tinent undiminished,  if  not  increased,  through  years  of  famine, 
disaster,  and  depression.  He  loved  patronage  and  power, 
but  disdained  the  considerations  of  selfish  interest.  It  must, 
however,  be  acknowledged  that  a  jealous,  sullen,  and  even 
vindictive  temper  obscured  in  some  degree  the  luster  of  his 
success,  and  detracted  from  the  dignity  of  his  nature.      The 

*  There  was  a  flounsning  settlement  at  Mount  Louis  in  1758, 
which  was  destroyed  by  General  Wolfe. 


332  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

Chevalier  de  Callieres,  governor  of  Montreal,  was  appointed 
his  successor,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  classes  in  the  colony. 

The  new  governor*  applied  himself  vigorously  to  the 
difficult  task  of  establishing  the  tranquillity  of  his  territories. 
He  endeavored  to  procure  the  alliance  of  all  the  Indian  tribes 
within  reach  of  French  intercourse  or  commerce,  but  the 
high  price  charged  by  the  Canadian  merchants  for  their 
goods  proved  a  constant  difficulty  in  the  way  of  negotiation, 
and  ever  afforded  the  savages  a  pretext  for  disaffection  and 
complaint.  In  the  midst  of  his  useful  labors,  this  excellent 
chief  was  suddenly  cut  off  by  death  ;  his  upright  and  judicious 
administration  won  the  esteem  of  all  the  colonists,  and  the 
truth  and  honesty  of  his  dealings  with  the  native  tribes  gave 
him  an  influence  over  them  which  none  of  his  predecessors 
had  ever  won.  On  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Canada, 
the  king  willingly  appointed  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  to  the 
vacant  government.  Soon  after  his  accession  a  deputation 
of  the  Iroquois  arrived  at  Quebec,  and  for  the  first  time 
formally  acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of  France,  and  claimed 
the  protection  of  her  flag. 

M.  de  Raudot,  the  intendant,  introduced  various  important 
judicial  and  fiscal  improvements  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony 
at  this  time  ;  by  his  influence  and  mediation  he  effectually 
checked  a  litigious  spirit  which  had  infused  itself  among  the 
Canadians  to  a  ruinous  extent,  and  by  strong  representations 
induced  the  king  to  remove  the  cruel  restrictions  placed  upon 
colonial  industry  by  the  jealousy  of  the  mother  country. 

*  "  Sans  avoir  le  brilliant  de  son  predecesseur,  il  en  avait  tout  le 
solide ;  des  viies  droites  et  desinteresses,  sans  prejuge  et  sans  passion  ; 
una  fermete  toujours  d'accord  avec  la  raison,  une  valeur,  que  le  flegme 
sfavoit  nioderer  et  rendre  utile  :  un  grand  sens,  beaueoup  de  probite 
et  d'honneur,  et  une  penetration  d'esprit,  a  laquelle  une  grande  ap- 
plication et  une  longue  experience  avoient  ajoute  tout  ce  que  I'ex- 
pcrience  pent  donner  de  lumieres.  II  avoit  pris  des  les  commencemens 
un  grand  empire  sur  les  sauvages,  qui  le  connoisoient  exacte  a  tenir  sa 
parole,  et  ferme  a  vouloir  qu'  on  lui  gardat  celles  qu'  on  lui  avoient 
donnees.  Les  Franpois  de  leur  cote  otaient  convaincus  qu'il  n'  exige- 
roient  jamais  rien  d'eux,  que  de  raisonnable ;  que  pour  n'  avoir  ni  la 
naissance,  ni  les  grandes  alliances  du  Comte  de  Frontenac,  ni  le  rang 
de  lieutenant  general  des  armees  du  roi,  il  ne  sfauroit  pas  moins  se 
faire  obeir  que  lui." — Charlevoix,  torn,  iii.,  p.  353. 


THE  CONUUEST  Ol'  CANADA.  333 

In  the  spring  of  1708  a  council  was  held  at  Montreal  to 
deliberate  upon  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  checking  the  in- 
trigues of  the  English  among  the  alUed  savages  :  the  chiefs 
of  all  the  Christian  Indians  and  the  faithful  and  warlike 
Abenaquis  were  present  on  the  occasion.  It  was  resolved 
that  a  blow  should  be  struck  against  the  British  colonies, 
and  a  body  of  400  men,  including  Indians,  was  formed  for 
the  expedition,  the  object  of  which  was  kept  secret.  After 
a  march  of  150  leagues  across  an  almost  impracticable  coun- 
try, the  French  attacked  the  little  fort  and  village  of  Haver- 
hill, garrisoned  by  thirty  New  Englandmen,  and  carried  them 
after  a  sharp  struggle  ;  many  of  the  defenders  were  killed  or 
captured,  and  the  settlement  destroyed.  The  neighboring 
country  was,  however,  soon  aroused,  and  the  assailants  with 
difficulty  efiected  a  retreat,  losing  thirty  oi"  their  men. 

Intelligence  reached  the  French  in  the  following  year  that 
Colonel  Vetch,  who,  during  a  residence  of  several  years  at 
Quebec,  had  contrived  to  sound  all  the  difficult  passages  of 
the  River  St.  Lawrence,  had  successfully  instigated  the  Queen 
of  England  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  New  France  ;  that  a 
fleet  of  twenty  ships  was  being  prepared  for  the  expedition, 
and  a  force  of  6000  regular  troops  were  to  sail  under  its 
protection,  while  2000  English  and  as  many  Indians,  under 
the  command  of  General  Nicholson,  were  to  march  upon 
Montreal  by  the  way  of  Lake  Champlain.  M.  de  Vaudreuil 
immediately  assembled  a  council  of  war  to  meet  the  emergency, 
w^here  some  bold  measures  were  planned,  but  a  misunder- 
standing between  the  governor  general  and  one  of  his  prin- 
cipal officers  paralyzed  their  execution.  Finally,  indeed,  a 
considerable  force  was  marched  to  anticipate  the  British 
attack ;  but  the  dissensions  of  the  leaders,  the  insubordination 
of  the  troops,  and  the  want  of  correct  intelligence,  embar- 
rassed their  movements,  and  drove  them  to  an  inglorious 
retreat.  On  the  other  hand,  the  English,  mistrusting  the 
faith  of  their  Indian  allies,  and  suffering  from  a  frightful 
mortality,  burned  their  canoes  and  advanced  posts,  and  re- 
treated from  the  frontier.  The  perfidious  Iroquois,  while 
professing  the  closest  friendship,  had  poisoned  the  stream 
hard  by  the  British  camp,  and  thus  caused  the  fatal  malady 


334  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

which  decimated  tlieir  unsus}jecting  allies.  The  fleet  destined 
for  the  attack  of  Quebec  never  crossed  the  Atlantic  :  it  AA'as 
sent  to  Lisbon  instead,  to  support  the  falling  fortunes  of 
Portugal  against  the  triumphant  arms  of  Castile. 

In  the  following  year,  another  abortive  expedition  was 
undcrtalcen  by  the  English  against  Canada.  Intelligence  was 
brought  to  M.  de  Vaudreuil  that  ten  ships  of  war  of  50  guns 
each  and  upward  had  arrived  from  England,  and  were  as- 
sembled at  Boston,  together  with  35  transports  capable  of 
conveying  3000  men,  while  a  force  of  provincial  militia  and 
Indians  of  New  York,  nearly  2000  strong,  were  collected 
in  that  state  to  assail  him  by  land.  The  French  governor 
immediately  called  together  the  Iroquois  deputies,  and  suc- 
cessfully urged  their  neutrality  in  the  approaching  struggle. 
He  also  secured  the  somewhat  doubtful  allegiance  of  the  al- 
lied tribes,  but  only  accepted  the  prolfered  services  of  a  few 
warriors  of  each  nation,  and  this  more  as  hostages  than  for 
the  purpose  of  increasing  his  strength. 

M.  de  Vaudreuil  then  hastened  from  Montreal  to  Quebec, 
where  he  found  that  his  lieutenant,  M.  de  Boucourt,  had  ef- 
fectually executed  his  orders  to  strengthen  the  defenses.  The 
settlements  along  the  coast  below  that  important  stronghold 
were  sufficiently  guarded  to  render  a  hostile  debarkation  dif- 
ficult and  dangerous.  The  governor  immediately  reascend- 
ed  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  formed  a  corps  of  3000  men  un- 
der M.  de  Longueiul,  at  Chambly,  to  await  the  approach  of 
the  English.  The  invading  army,  however,  retreated  with- 
out coming  to  action,  having  received  information  of  a  great 
disaster  which  had  befallen  their  fleet.  The  British  admiral 
had  neglected  the  warnings  of  an  experienced  French  navigat- 
or, named  Paradis,  who  accompanied  him,  and  approached  too 
near  a  small  island  in  the  narrow  and  dangerous  channel  of 
the  Traverse  ;  a  sudden  squall  from  the  southeast  burst  upon 
him  at  that  critical  moment,  and  his  own,  with  seven  other 
ships  of  the  fleet,  were  driven  on  the  rocky  shore,  and  utterly 
destroyed  :  very  few  men  escaped  from  these  ill-fated  vessels.* 

*  "  Enfin  la  retraite  des  deux  arniees  Aiiglaises  qui  devaicnf. 
atlaquer  en  merae  tem.s  la  Nouvclle  France  par  terre  et  par  raor,  et 
divisor  -jca  forces  en  les  occupant  aux  deux  extremitcs  de  la  colonie, 


Tilli;    CONQUEST    OV    CANADA.  335 

The  generosity  and  loyalty  of  the  merchants  of  Quebec 
furnished  the  governor  with  50,000  crowns,  to  strengthen 
the  fortifications  of  their  town,  on  the  occasion  of  a  rumor 
that  the  English  were  again  preparing  an  invasion  of  Cana- 
da, in  1712,  aided  by  the  Iroquois,  to  whom  they  had  be- 
come reconciled.  At  the  same  time,  a  new  enemy  entered 
the  field — the  fiercest  and  bravest  of  the  native  tribes  ;  this 
people,  called  Outagamis  or  Foxes,  joined  in  a  confederacy 
with  the  Five  Nations,  and  undertook  to  burn  the  French 
fort  at  Detroit,*  and  destroy  the  inhabitants.      A  large  force 

n'  etant  plus  douteuse,  et  le  bruit  s'  etant  repandu  que  la  premiero 
avait  fait  naufrage  dans  le  fleuve  St.  Laurent  vers  les  Sept  Isles,  M.  de 
Vaudreuil  y  envoya  plusieurs  barques.  Ellcs  y  trouverent  les  carcasses 
de  huit  gros  vaisseaux,  dont  on  avoit  enleve  les  canons  et  les  meilleurs 
eftets,  et  pres  de  trois  raille  personnes  noyees,  dont  les  corps  etoient 
etendus  sur  le  rivage.  On  y  reconnut  deux  couipagnies  entieres  des 
Gardes  de  la  Reine,  qu'  on  distingua  a  leurs  casaques  rouges,  et  plu- 
sieurs families  Ecossoises,  destiuees  a  peupler  le  Canada,  mais  quoique 
le  reste  de  la  flotte  eut  reste  mouille  plusieurs  jours  au  meme  endroit, 
pour  enlever  toute  la  charge  des  vaisseaux  brises,  on  ne  laissa  point 
d'  y  faire  un  assez  grand  butin." — Charlevoix,  torn,  iv.,  p.  82. 

*  The  city  of  Detroit  dates  its  history  from  July,  1701.  At  that 
time  M.  de  la  Motte  Cadillac,  with  one  hundred  men,  and  a  Jesuit, 
carrying  with  them  every  thing  necessary  for  the  commencement  and 
support  of  the  establishment  meditated,  reached  this  place.  "  How 
numerous  and  diversified,"  said  a  public  literary  document,  "are  the 
incidents  compressed  within  the  history  of  this  settlement.  No  place 
in  the  United  States  presents  such  a  series  of  events  interesting  in 
themselves  and  permanently  affecting,  as  they  occurred,  its  progress 
and  prosperity.  Five  times  its  flag  has  changed ;  three  different  sov- 
ereignties have  claimed  its  allegiance ;  and  since  it  has  been  held  by 
the  United  States,  its  government  has  been  thrice  transferred.  Twice 
it  has  been  besieged  by  the  Indians,  once  captured  in  war,  and  once 
burned  to  the  ground." 

"  Detroit  has  long  been  considered  as  the  limit  of  civilization  to- 
ward the  northwest.  This  town,  or  commercial  port,  is  dignified  by 
the  name,  and  enjoys  the  chartered  rights  of  a  city,  although  its  pop- 
ulation at  present  does  not  exceed  three  thousand.  The  banks  of  the 
river  above  and  below  the  city  are  lined  with  a  French  population, 
descendants  of  the  first  European  traders  among  the  Indians  in  that 
quarter,  and  extending  from  Lake  Eric  to  Lake  St.  Clair,  increasing 
in  density  as  they  approach  the  town,  and  averaging,  perhaps,  one  hun- 
dred per  mile.  This  place,  but  a  little  while  ago  so  distant,  is  now 
brought  within  four  days  of  the  cit}'  of  New  York,  the  track  pursued 
being  seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles.    Here,  at  Detroit,  some  of  the  finest 


336  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

of  their  warriors  advanced  upon  the  httle  stronghold,  but 
Du  Buisson,  the  able  and  gallant  commandant,  having  sum- 
moned the  neighboring  allies  to  the  assistance  of  his  garrison 
of  twenty  Frenchmen,  defeated  the  dangerous  invaders  after 
a  series  of  conflicts  almost  unparalleled  for  obstinacy  in  In- 
dian war,  and  destroyed  more  than  a  thousand  of  their  best 
and  bravest.* 

These  important  successes,  however,  could  not  secure  to 
the  French  an  equality  in  trade  with  their  English  rivals  ; 
their  narrow  and  injudicious  commercial  system  limited  the 
supply  of  European  goods  to  be  exchanged  for  the  spoils  of 
the  Pv.ed  Man's  forests  ;  the  fur  trade,  therefore,  fell  almost 
wholly  into  the  hands  of  British  merchants,  and  even  those 
native  tribes  in  closest  alliance  with  the  Canadian  governor 
obtained  their  scanty  clothing  from  the  looms  of  Yorkshire, 
and  their  weapons  of  the  chase  from  the  industrious  hands 
of  our  colonists. 

Bv  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713,  Louis  the  Magnificent 
ceded  away  forever,  with  ignorant  indifierence,  the  noble 
province  of  Acadia,t  the  inexhaustible  fisheries  of  Newfound- 
land, and  his  claims  to  the  vast  but  almost  unknowii  regions 
of  Hudson's  Bay  ;  his  nominal  sovereignty  over  the  Iroquois 
was  also  thrown  into  the  scale,  t  and  thus  a  dearly-purchased 

.steamers  in  North  America  come  and  go  every  daj',  connecting  it 
witli  the  east,  and  have  begun  already  to  .search  out  the  distant  west 
and  north." — Colton's  Tour  to  the  American  Lakes,  vol.  i.,  p.  46. 

*  "  Le  fruit  de  sa  victoire  (Du  Buisson)  fut  que  les  Anglois  des- 
espererent  de  s'  etablir  au  Detroit,  ce  qui  auroit  ete  la  ruine  entiere 
de  la  Nouvelle  France,  non  seulement  a  cause  de  la  situation  de  ce 
lieu,  qui  est  le  ceatre  et  le  plus  beau  pays  du  Canada,  mais  encore 
parcequ'il  ne  nous  auroit  plus  etc  possible  d'entretenir  la  moindre  com- 
munication avec  les  sauvages  d'en  haut  ni  avec  la  Louisiane." — Char- 
levoix, vol.  iv.,  p.  105. 

t  '■  Le  roi  tres  Chretien  cede  a  la  reine  d'Angleterre  a  perpetuite, 
I'Acadie,  ou  Nouvelle  Ecosse,  en  entier,  conlbrmement  a  ses  anci- 
ennes  limites,  comme  aussi  la  ville  de  Port  Royal,  maintenant  appellee 
Annapolis  Royale." Article  XII.  du  Traite  d' Utrecht,  1713. 

t  "  Ce  dernier  article  ne  nous  ota  rien  de  reel,  et  nc  donna  non  plus 
rien  aux  Anglais,  parceque  les  cantons  renouvellerent  les  protestations, 
qu'ils  avoient  deja  faites  plus  d'une  fois  centre  les  pretentions  recipro- 
ques  de  leurs  voisins  et  ont  tres  bien  sfu  se  raaintenir  dans  la  possession 
de  leur  libertc  et  de  leur  independance." — Charlevoix. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  337 

peace  restored  comparative  tranquillity  to  the  remnant  of  his 
American  empire.* 

The  fierce  Outagamis,  more  incensed  than  weakened  by 
their  losses  at  Detroit,  made  savage  and  murderous  reprisals 
upon  all  the  nations  allied  to  the  French.  Their  vindictive 
vigilance  rendered  the  routes  between  the  distant  posts  of 
Canada,  and  those  southward  to  Louisiana,!  for  many  years 
almost  impracticable.      At  one   time,   indeed,   when   over- 

*  "  II  (Prior)  etoit  pareillement  autorise  a  traite  sur  les  limites  de 
I'Amerique  septentrionale,  et  s'il  plaisoit  au  roi,  ces  deux  articles 
pouvoient  etre  regies  en  peu  de  tems." — Mcmoires  de  Torcy  sur  la 
Paix  d"  Utrecht^  vol.  iii.,  p.  426. 

t  It  is  hardly  remembered  at  the  present  day  that  the  French  nation 
once  claimed,  and  had  begun  to  colonize  the  whole  region  which  lies 
at  the  back  of  the  thirteen  original  United  States,  from  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  that  of  the  Mississippi,  comprising  both  the  Can- 
adas  and  the  vast  fertile  valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  had  actually  occupied 
the  two  outlets  of  this  whole  region  by  its  ports  at  Quebec  and  New 
Orleans.^  Canada,  the  oldest  French  colony,  and  the  only  one  on  the 
continent  to  which  that  nation  has  sent  any  considerable  number  of 
settlers,  was  under  the  management  of  an  exclusive  company,  from 
166.3  to  the  downfall  of  what  was  called  the  Mississippi  Scheme,  in 
1720;  and  this  circumstance,  still  more,  perhaps,  than  the  vicious 
system  of  granting  the  land  to  nonresident  proprietors,  to  be  held  by 
seignorial  tenure,  checlied  its  progress.  Louisiana,  with  more  sources 
of  surplus  wealth  from  climate  and  soil,  was  never  a  very  thi'iving 
colony,  and  was  surrendered  to  Spain  v.'ith  little  reluctance,  from 
which  last  power  its  dominion  passed  to  the  United  States. 

The  French  traders  and  hunters  intermarried  and  mixed  with  the 
Indians  at  the  back  of  our  settlements,  and  extended  their  scattered 
posts  along  the  whole  course  of  the  two  vast  rivers  of  that  continent. 
Even  at  this  day,  far  away  on  the  upper  waters  of  these  mighty  streams, 
and  beyond  the  utmost  limits  reached  by  the  backwoodsman,  the  trav- 
eler discovers  villages  in  which  the  aspect  and  social  usages  of  the 
people,  their  festivities  and  their  solemnities,  in  which  the  white  and 
red  man  mingle  on  equal  terms,  strangely  contrast  with  the  habits  of 
the  Anglo-American,  and  announce  to  him,  on  his  first  approach,  their 
Gallic  origin. — Merivale,  vol.  i.,  p.  58  ;  Sismondi,  Etudes  sur  V Ecole 
Politique,  vol.  ii.,  p.  200 ;   Latrobe. 

»  "  La  ville  de  Nouvelle  Orleans  fut  fomU'o  duns  I'amiefi  1717.  M.  de  Bienville  tit 
choi.x  de  la  situation.  On  a  nominS  cette  fameuse  ville  la  Nouvelle  Orleans.  Ceux 
qui  lui  ont  donne  ce  nom  croyoient  qu'  Orleans  est  du  genre  fcinim'n,  mais  qu'  importe  ? 
r  usage  est  etabli  et  11  est  au-dessus  dcs  regies  de  la  grammaire.  Cette  ville  est  la 
premiere  qu'  un  des  plus  grands  fleuves  du  monde  ait  vu  s'elever  sur  ses  bords." — 
Charlevoix,  vol.  viii.,  p.  193. 
VOL.   I. P 


338  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

whelmed  by  a  successful  invasion,  these  implacable  savages 
made  a  formal  cession  of  their  territories  to  M.  de  Vaudreuil ; 
but,  the  moment  opportunity  offered,  they  renewed  hostilities, 
and,  although  beaten  in  repeated  encounters,  having  united 
the  remnant  of  their  tribe  to  the  powerful  Sioux  and  Chi- 
chachas,*  they  continued  for  a  long  time  to  harass  the  steps 
of  their  detested  conquerors. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1725,  M.  de  Vaudreuil  closed  his 
useful  career.  For  one-and-twenty  years  he  had  discharged 
his  important  duties  with  unswerving  loyalty,  ability,  and 
vigilance.  Good  fortune  crowned  him  with  well-i^ierited 
success,  and  he  went  to  rest  from  his  earthly  labors  with 
the  blessings  of  a  grateful  people,  who,  under  his  wise  rule, 
had  rapidly  progressed  to  prosperity. 

The  Marquis  de  Beauharnois,  captain  of  the  marine,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  government  of  the  now  tranquil  colony.  His 
anxiety  was  aroused,  however,  the  year  after  his  accession, 
by  the  vigorous  efforts  of  the  English  to  extend  their  com- 
merce even  into  the  heart  of  the  Canadian  territories.  Gov- 
ernor Burnet,  of  New  York,  had  erected  a  fort  and  trading 
post  at  Oswego,  with  the  view  of  monopolizing  the  rich  traf- 
fic of  the  Western  lakes.  To  counteract  this  design,  M.  de 
Beauharnois  sent  the  Baron  de  Longueuil  to  negotiate  with 
the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of  Niagara,  for  their  con- 
sent to  the  erection  of  a  French  fort  and  establishment  upon 
the  banks  of  their  magnificent  river,  where  it  enters  the 
waters  of  Ontario.  After  many  difficulties  in  reconciling 
the  jealousy  of  the  native  tribes,  the  French  succeeded  in 
efiecting  their  object.      On  the  other  hand,  the  men  of  New 

*  "  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  paile  des  Chichachas  dans  son  histoire 
de  la  conquetc  do  la  Floridc,  et  il  les  place  a  peu  pres  an  mcnie 
cndroit  ou  ils  sont  encore  j)rcsentement.  .  .  .  Ce  sont  encore  les  plus 
braves  soldats  de  la  Louisiane,  niais  ils  etoient  beaucoup  plus  nombrcux 
du  tern  de  Ferdinand  de  Soto.  .  .  .  C'est  notre  alliance  aves  les  Illinois 
qui  nous  a  mis  en  guerre  avee  les  Chichachas  et  les  Anglois  de  la 
Caroline  attisent  le  leu.  Notre  etablissement  dans  la  Louisiane  fait 
grand  mal  au  cosur  a  ceux-ci ;  e'cst  une  barriere  que  nnus  mettons 
cntre  leurs  puissantes  colonies  de  I'Amcrique  septcntrionale,  et  le 
Mexique.  .  .  .  Les  Espagnols  qui  nous  voyent  avee  des  yeux  si  jaloux 
nous  fortifier  dans  ee  pays,  nc  sentent  pas  encore  I'importancc  du  ser- 
vice que  nous  Icur  rcndons."' — Charlevoix,  torn,  vi.,  p.  160. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  339 

York  strengthened  their  defenses  at  Oswego,  and  increased 
the  garrison.  Angry  communications  then  passed  between 
the  French  and  English  governors  in  peremptory  demands 
for  its  abandonment  by  the  one,  and  prompt  refusals  by  the 
other.  Each  was  well  aware  of  the  importance  of  the  posi- 
tion :  it  served  as  a  means  of  diverting  nearly  all  the  Indian 
trade  by  Albany  and  the  channel  of  the  Hudson  into  the 
British  colonies,  and  also  formed  a  frontier  protection  to  those 
numerous  and  flourishing  settlements  which  Anglo-Saxon 
industry  and  courage  were  rapidly  forming  in  the  wilder- 
ness. 

In  the  vain  hope  of  checking  the  irrepressible  energies  of 
rival  colonization,  Beauharnois  erected  a  fort  at  Crown  Point, 
on  Lake  Champlain,  commanding  its  important  navigation, 
and  also  serving  to  hold  in  terror  the  settlers  on  the  neigh- 
boring banks  of  the  Hudson  and  Connecticut.  The  English 
remonstrated  without  eflect  against  this  occupation,  and  the 
French  remained  in  peaceable  possession  of  their  establish- 
ment. The  next  war  that  broke  out  between  the  mother 
countries  spread  rapine  and  destruction  over  the  colonial 
frontiers,  without  any  real  result  beyond  mutual  injury  and 
embittered  hatred.  From  this  fort  at  Crown  Point,  and 
other  posts  held  by  the  Canadians,  marauding  parties  poured 
upon  the  British  settlements,  and  destroyed  them  with  hor- 
rid barbarity.  A  party  of  French  and  Indians  even  pene- 
trated to  Saratoga,  within  forty  miles  of  Albany,  attacked 
and  burned  the  fort,  and  slew  or  carried  into  captivity  the 
unhappy  defenders. 

For  many  subsequent  years  the  history  of  Canada  is  but 
a  chronicle  of  the  accession  of  governors  and  the  registration 
of  royal  edicts.  In  comparison  with  her  southern  rivals,  the 
progress  in  material  prosperity  was  very  slow.  Idleness  and 
drunkenness,  with  all  their  attendant  evils,  were  rife  to  a 
most  injurious  extent.  The  innumerable  fetes,  or  holidays 
of  the  Church,  aflbrded  opportunities  to  the  dissolute,  and 
occasioned  frequent  instances  of  serious  disorders,  till  the 
king  was  urged  to  interfere  :  the  number  of  these  fete-days 
was  then  very  much  reduced,  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  col- 
ony.     The  feudal  system  of  tenure  also  operated  most  un- 


340  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

favorably  upon  the  development  of  agricultural  resources, 
and  the  forced  partition  of  lands  tended  to  reduce  all  the 
landholders  to  a  fraternity  of  pauperism.  The  court  of 
France  endeavored  vainly  to  remedy  these  evils,  without 
removing  the  causes,  and  passed  various  edicts  to  encourage 
the  further  clearance  of  w^ild  land,  and  to  stimulate  settle- 
ment. 

In  1745,  the  year  M^hen  the  power  of  France  in  Europe 
was  exalted  by  the  splendid  victory  of  Fontenoy,  a  dangerous 
blow  was  struck  at  her  sovereignty  in  America  by  the  cap- 
ture of  Louisburg,  and  with  it  the  whole  island  of  Cape 
Breton,*  by  the   New  Englanders   under   Mr.    Pepperel,t 

*  From  the  year  1706  the  name  of  Cape  Breton  was  changed  to 
He  Royale.     Louisburg  was  called  le  Havre  a  1' Anglais. 

t  "  The  importance  of  the  colonies  ^  was  too  little  considered  until 
the  commencement  of  the  last  war.  The  reduction  of  Cape  Breton  by 
the  people  of  New  England  was  an  acquisition  so  unexpected  and  for- 
tunate, that  America  became,  on  that  remarkable  event,  a  more 
general  topic  of  conversation.  Mr.  Shirley,  the  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  was  the  principal  projector  of  that  glorious  enterprise ; 
an  enterprise  which  reduced  to  the  obedience  of  his  Britannic  majesty 
the  Dunkirk  of  North  America.  Of  such  consequence  to  the  French 
was  the  possession  of  that  important  key  to  their  American  settle- 
ments, that  its  restitution  was,  in  reality,  the  purchase  of  the  last 
general  peace  of  Europe."" — A  Review  of  the  Military  Operations  in 
North  America,  in  a  Letter  to  a  Nobleman,  p.  4  (London,  1757). 

"  The  plan  of  the  invasion  of  Cape  Breton  was  laid  at  Boston,  and 
New  England^  bore  the  expense  of  it.    A  merchant  named  Pepperel,* 

'  "L'ile  (le  Cap  Brfeton  n'  6toit  pas  alors  (at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  Ryswick),  uu 
objet,  et  1'  6tablissement  que  nous  y  avions  n'avoit  rien  qui  put  exciter  la  jalousie  des 
Anglais:  elle  nous  ilemeura." — Charlevoix,  torn,  iii.,  p.  349. 

2  "The  island  of  Cape  Breton,  of  which  the  French  were  shamefully  left  in  pos- 
session at  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  1713,  through  the  negligence  or  corruption  of  the 
British  ministry,  when  Great  Britain  had  the  power  of  giving  law  to  her  enemies." — 
Russell's  Modern  Europe,  vol.  iii.,  p.  223. 

"  Only  three  years  after  Cape  Breton  was  taken  by  the  New  Englanders,  England 
was  obliged  reluctantly  to  resign  her  favorite  conquest  of  Capo  Breton,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  restitution  of  Madras.  This  was  by  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  1748. 
The  final  conquest  took  place  in  1758,  by  the  English,  under  Amherst  and  Wolfe." — 
Belsham,  vol.  ii.,  p.  333. 

^  "The  sum  of  £235,749  was  granted  by  the  British  Parliament  to  the  provinces  (if 
New  England,  to  reimburse  them  for  the  expense  of  reducing  Capo  Breton." — Smollett, 
vol.  iii.,  p.  224. 

*  "The  news  of  this  victory  being  transmitted  to  England,  Mr.  Pepperel  was  pre- 
ferred to  the  dignity  of  a  barouet  of  Great  Britain." — Ibid.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  154. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  341 

aided  by  Admiral  Warren's  squadron.  This  disaster  was 
no  sooner  known  in  Paris*  than  an  extensive  armament 
was  equipped  under  the  command  of  the  Due  d'Anville,  an 
officer  of  known  valor  and  ability.  The  wounded  pride  of 
the  French  hurried  on  rapidly  the  preparations  for  this  ex- 

who  had  excited,  encouraged,  and  directed  the  enterprise,  was  in- 
trusted with  the  command  of  the  army  of  6000  men,  which  had  been 
levied  for  this  expedition.  Though  these  forces,  convoyed  by  a 
squadron  from  Jamaica,  brought  the  first  news  to  Cape  Breton  of  the 
danger  that  threatened  it ;  though  the  advantage  of  a  surprise  would 
have  secured  the  landing  without  opposition  ;  though  they  had  but  six 
hundred  regular  troops  to  encounter,  and  eight  hundred  inhabitants 
hastily  armed,  the  success  of  the  undertaking  was  still  precarious. 
What  great  exploits,  indeed,  could  have  been  expected  from  militia 
suddenly  assembled,  who  had  never  seen  a  siege  or  faced  an  enemy, 
and  were  to  act  under  the  direction  of  sea-officers  only  ?  These  inex- 
perienced troops  stood  in  need  of  the  assistance  of  some  fortunate 
accident,  with  which  they  were  indeed  favored  in  a  singular  manner. 
The  construction  and  repair  of  the  fortifications  had  always  been  left 
to  the  care  of  the  garrison  at  Louisburg.  The  soldiers  were  eager 
to  be  employed  on  these  works,  as  the  means  of  procuring  a  comfort- 
able subsistence.  When  they  found  that  those  who  were  to  have  paid 
them  appropriated  to  themselves  the  profits  of  their  labors,  they 
demanded  justice :  it  was  denied  them,  and  they  determined  to  assert 
their  right.  As  the  depredations  had  been  shared  between  the  chief 
persons  of  the  colony  and  the  subaltern  officers,  the  soldiers  could  ob- 
tain no  redress.  They  had,  in  consequence,  lived  in  open  rebellion  for 
above  six  months  when  the  English  appeared  before  the  place.  This 
was  the  time  to  conciliate  the  minds  of  both  parties;  the  soldiers 
made  the  first  advances,  but  their  commanders  distrusted  a  generosity 
of  which  they  themselves  were  incapable.  It  was  firmly  believed  that 
the  soldiers  were  only  desirous  of  sallying  out  that  they  might  have 
an  opportunity  of  deserting,  and  their  own  officers  kept  them  in  a 
manner  prisoners,  until  a  defense  so  ill  managed  had  reduced  them  to 
the  necessity  of  capitulating.  The  whole  island  shared  the  fate  of 
Louisburg,  its  only  bulwark.  This  valuable  possession,  restored  to 
France  by  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  was  again  attacked  by  the 
English  in  1748,  and  taken.  The  possession  was  confirmed  to  Great 
Britain  by  the  peace  in  1763,  since  which  the  fortifications  have  been 
blown  up,  and  the  town  of  Louisburg  dismantled." — Winterbottom's 
History  of  America,  vol.  iv.,  p.  14. 

*  "  When  Marshal  Belleisle  was  told  of  the  taking  of  Cape  Breton, 
he  said  he  could  believe  that,  because  the  ministry  had  no  hand  in  it. 
We  are  making  bonfires  for  Cape  Breton,  and  thundering  over  Genoa, 
while  our  army  in  Flanders  is  running  away." — Walpole's  Letteri  to 
Sir  Horace  Mann,  July  26,  1745. 


342  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

pedition,  which  they  confidently  hoped  would  redeem  the 
tarnished  honor  of  their  arms  in  the  Western  world.  Early 
in  May  the  fleet  was  already  completely  appointed  ;  but  the 
elements  did  not  second  these  energetic  preparations,  and 
contrary  winds  detained  the  armament  till  the  2  2d  of  June. 
Then  it  at  last  put  to  sea,  in  the  formidable  strength  of 
eleven  ships  of  the  line,  thirty  smaller  vessels  of  war,  and 
transports  containing  3000  regular  soldiers.  Nova  Scotia, 
the  Acadia*  of  other  days,  was  their  destination.  There  it 
was  expected  that  the  old  French  settlers,  who  had  unwill- 
ingly submitted  to  English  conquest,  would  readily  range 
themselves  once  more  under  the  fleur-de-lys  :  Canada  had 
already  sent  her  contingent  of  1700  men  under  M.  de  Ram- 
say to  aid  the  enterprise,  and  M.  de  Conflans,  with  four 
ships  of  the  line  from  the  West  Indies,  was  directed  to  join 
the  squadron. 

This  formidable  fleet  was  but  a  short  time  at  sea  when 
the  ships  separated  and  fell  into  hopeless  confusion.  On  the 
12th  of  September,  indeed,  the  Due  d'Anville  reached  the 
Western  continent  in  the  Northumberland,  accompanied  by 
a  few  other  vessels,  but  there  no  laurels  awaited  the  gallant 
admiral  :  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  apoplexy,  and  in  four 
days  his  body  was  committed  to  the  deep.    The  vice  admiral 

*  "  The  tract  of  country  known  by  the  name  of  Nova  Scotia,  or 
New  Scotland,  was  in  1784  divided  into  two  provinces,  viz.,  New 
Brunswick  on  the  southwest,  and  Nova  Scotia  on  the  southeast.  The 
former  comprehends  that  part  of  the  old  province  of  Nova  Scotia 
which  lies  to  the  northward  and  westward  of  a  line  drawn  from  the 
mouth  of  the  River  St.  Croix,  through  the  center  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
to  Baye  Verte,  and  thence  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  including  all 
lands  within  six  leagues  of  the  coast.  The  rest  is  the  province  of 
Nova  Scotia,  to  which  is  annexed  the  island  of  St.  John's,  which  lies 
north  of  it  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  The  modern  Nova  Scotia  is 
the  French  Acadia.  The  modern  New  Brunswick  is  the  French 
Nouvelle  Ecosse.  This  name  was  given  by  Sir  William  Alexander, 
to  whom  the  first  grant  of  lands  was  given  by  James  1. ;  since  then 
the  country  has  frequently  changed  hands,  from  the  French  to  the 
English  nation,  backward  and  forward.  It  was  not  confirmed  to  the 
English  till  the  peace  of  Utrecht.  Three  thousand  families  were 
transported  into  this  country  in  1749,  at  the  charge  of  the  government, 
and  they  built  and  settled  the  town  of  Halifax." — Winterbottom's 
History  of  America,  vol.  iv.,  p.  39. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  343 

immediately  proposed  returning  to  France,  on  account  of  the 
absence  of  the  greater  part  of  his  force  ;  but  other  officers 
strongly  opposed  this  desponding  counsel,  and  urged  a  bold 
attack  upon  Nova  Scotia  *  rather  than  an  iiiglorious  retreat. 
The  more  vigorous  course  was  adopted  by  a  council  of  war, 
which  threw  the  vice  admiral  into  such  a  state  of  frantic 
excitement  that  he  ran  himself  through  the  body,  fancying 
he  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  De  la  Jonquiere 
succeeded  to  the  command,  and,  although  more  than  three- 
score years  of  age,  acted  with  unimpaired  energy.  But  the 
elements  were  again  hostile  to  France  ;  the  fleet  was  dis- 
persed by  a  violent  storm  oft'  Cape  Sable,  and  the  shattered 
remnant  of  the  expedition  returned  ingloriously  to  their  coun- 
try, without  having  accomplished  any  of  the  objects  for  which 
they  had  been  sent  forth. 

The  government  at  Paris  was,  however,  by  no  means  cast 
down  by  these  untoward  occurrences,  and  the  armameTlt  was 
speedily  equipped  to  renew  their  efforts  against  the  English 
colonies.  The  expedition  was  prepared  at  Brest,  under  the 
command  of  M.  de  la  Jonquiere,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a 
squadron  under  M.  de  St.  George  was  armed  with  a  view 
to  threaten  the  coasts  of  British  India. 

The  English  ministry,  early  informed  of  all  the  movements 
of  their  opponents,  resolved  to  intercept  both  these  squadrons, 
which  they  had  been  apprised  would  sail  from  port  at  the 
same  time.  Admiral  Anson  and  Rear-admiral  Warren  were 
ordered  upon  this  enterprise  with  a  formidable  fleet,  and, 
taking  their  departure  from  Plymouth,  steered  for  Cape 
Finisterre,  on  the  Galilean  coast.  On  the  third  of  May, 
1746,  they  fell  in  with  the  French  squadrons  of  six  large 

*  "  La  cour  de  France  avoit  extremement  a  cceur  de  recouvrer 
cette  province  (Acadia)  ;  les  efforts  reiteres  des  Anglois  pour  I'avoir 
en  leur  puissance,  et  plus  encore,  leur  triomphe  apres  I'avoir  conquise, 
avoit  enfin  ouvert  les  yeux  aux  Franfois  sur  la  grandeur  de  la  perte 
qu'ils  avoient  faite.  M.  de  Pontchartrain  ecrivit  ainsi  a  M.  de  Beau- 
harnois  :  '  Je  vous  ai  fait  assez  connoitre  combien  il  est  important  de 
reprendre  ce  poste  (le  Port  Royal)  avant  que  les  ennemies  y  soient 
solidement  etablis.  La  conservation  de  toute  1' Amcrique  septentrionale, 
et  lo  commerce  des  Fcches  le  demandent  egalement :  ce  sont  deux 
objets  qui  me  touchent  vivement.'  " — Charlevoix,  torn,  iv.,  p.  90. 


344  THE  CONQUEST  OP  CANADA. 

men-of-v/ar,  as  many  frigates,  four  armed  East  Indiamen, 
and  a  valuable  convoy  of  thirty  ships.  The  enemy's  heavier 
vessels  immediately  formed  in  order  of  battle,  while  the  mer 
chantmen  made  all  sail  away,  under  the  protection  of  the 
frigates.  The  British  were  also  ready  for  action,  and  a 
severe  combat  ensued.  Before  night  all  the  French  line  of 
battle  ships  were  captured  after  a  spirited  defense,  but  two 
thirds  of  the  convoy  escaped  through  the  darkness  of  the 
night.  A  considerable  quantity  of  bullion  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  victors,  and  their  grateful  sovereign  rewarded  the 
courage  and  good  fortune  of  the  admirals  by  raising  Anson 
to  the  peerage,  and  decorating  Warren  with  the  ribbon  of 
the  Bath. 

Admiral  de  la  Jonquiere,  the  newly-appointed  governor 
of  Canada,  was  among  the  numerous  captives  who  graced 
the  triumph  of  the  British  fleet.  When  the  news  of  this 
event  reached  Paris,  the  king  appointed  to  the  vacant  dignity 
the  Comte  de  la  Galissoniere,*  an  officer  of  distinguished 

=*  "  Roland  Michel  Barrln,  marquis  de  la  Galissoniere,  remplit  !a 
poste  de  gouverneur  comme  s'il  ne  se  fut  toute  sa  vie  occupe  que  de 

cet  objet II  etablit  a  Quebec  un  arsenal  maritime,  et  un  chantier 

de  construction,  ou  Ton  n'eraploya  que  Ics  bois  des  pays.  II  confui', 
proposa,  et  fit  adopter  le  vaste  plan  dont  il  commenca  fexecution,  de 
joindre  le  Canada  et  la  Louisiana  par  une  chaine  de  forts  et  d'etablisse- 
ments,  le  long  de  I'Ohio  ct  des  Mississippi,  a  travers  les  regions  desertes 
qui  separaient  ces  deux  colonies  a  Touest  des  lacs.  A  I'avantage 
d'etablir  entre  elles  une  communication  moins  penible  et  moins  long 
que  par  le  nord,  se  joignoit  celui  do  pouvoir  faire  parvenir  les  depeches 
en  France,  en  hiver  par  la  Louisiane,  tandis  que  I'embouchure  du  fleuve 
St.  Laurent  est  fcrmee  par  les  glaces ;   enfin  celui  do  resserrer  les 

Anglais  entre  les  montagties  et  la  mer II  emporta  tous  les  regrets 

quand  il  revint  en  France,  en  1749 La  dcfaite  de  ramiral  Anglai.s, 

Byng,  et  la  prise  de  Minorque  que  fut  le  fruit  de  cette  victoire  decisive, 
couronnerent  sa  carriere.  II  avoit  entrepris  cette  derniere  expedition 
conlre  I'avis  des  medecins  qui  lui  avoient  annonce  sa  mort  comiTM) 

prochaine,  s'il  se  rembarquoit II  caeha  ses  maux  tant  qu'il  pu*i, 

mais  il  fut  enfin  oblige  de  se  demettre  du  commandement.  II  revint 
en  France  et  so  mit  en  route  pour  Fontainebleau  ou  etoit  alors  le  roi. 
Les  forces  lui  manquerent  tolalement  a  Nemours,  ou  il  mourut  le  26 

Octobre,  1756 A  ses  talen.s  eminens  comme  marifl,  la  Galis.so- 

niere  unissoit  une  infinite  de  connaissances Serieux  et  I'erme, 

mais  en  meme  terns  doux,  modere,  affable,  et  integre,  il  se  fai.silo 
respecter  et  cherir  de  tous  ceux  qui  servoient  sous  ses  ordres 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  345 

merit  and  ability.  The  wisdom  of  this  selection  was  speedily 
displayed  ;  the  new  governor  no  sooner  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  office  than  his  active  zeal  found  employment  in  endeavor- 
ing to  develop  the  magnificent  resources  of  his  province.  He 
made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  face  of  the 
country,  the  climate,  population,  agriculture,  and  commerce, 
and  then  presented  an  able  statement  to  the  French  court 
of  the  great  importance  of  the  colony,  and  a  system  which, 
had  it  been  adopted  in  time,  might  have  secured  it  against 
English  aggression. 

The  Comte  de  la  Galissoniere  proposed  that  M.  du  Quesne, 
a  skillful  engineer,  should  be  appointed  to  establish  a  line  of 
fortifications  through  the  interior  of  the  country,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  urged  the  government  of  France  to  send  out 
10,000  peasants  to  form  settlements  on  the  banks  of  the 
great  lakes  and  southern  rivers.  By  these  means  he  affirmed 
that  the  English  colonies  would  be  restricted  within  the  nar- 
row tract  lying  eastward  from  the  Allegany  Mountains,  and 
in  time  laid  open  to  invasion  and  ruin.  His  advice  was, 
however,  disregarded,  and  the  splendid  province  of  Canada 
soon  passed  forever  from  under  the  sway  of  France.* 

Tant  do  belles  qualites  etoient  cachees  sous  un  exterieur  peu  avan- 
tageux.  La  Galissoniere  etoit  de  petite  taille  et  bossu.  Lorsque  les 
sauvages  vinrent  le  saluer  a  son  arrivee  an  Canada,  frappes  de  son  peu 
d'apparence,  ils  lui  parlerent  en  ces  termcs,  '  II  faut  que  tu  aies  une 
bien  belle  ame,  puisqu'  avec  un  si  vilain  corps,  ]e  grand  chef  notre 
pure  t'a  cnvoye  ici  pour  nous  commander.'  Ils  ne  tarderent  pas  a  re- 
connaitre  la  justice  de  leur  o[)inion,  et  eutourcrent  de  leur  amour  et  de 
leur  veneration,  en  Tappollant  du  nom  de  pcre,  I'homme  qui  ne  se  servit 
du  pouvoir  que  pour  ameliorer  leur  sort." — Biographie  Univcrsellc,  art. 
Galissoniere. 

*  "  In  observing  on  old  maps  the  extent  of  the  ancient  French  col- 
onies in  America,  I  vs'as  haunted  by  one  painful  idea.  I  asked  myself 
how  the  government  of  ray  country  could  have  left  colonies  to  perish 
which  would  now  be  to  us  a  source  of  inexhaustible  prosperity.  From 
Acadia  and  Canada  to  Louisiana,  from  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
to  that  of  the  Mississippi,  the  territories  of  New  France  surrounded 
what  originally  formed  the  confederation  of  the  thirteen  United  States. 
The  eleven  other  states,  the  district  of  Columbia,  the  Michigan,  Noi-th- 
west,  Missouri,  Oregon,  and  Arkansas  territories,  belonged,  or  would 
have  belonged  to  us,  as  they  now  belong  to  the  United  States,  by  the 
cession  of  the  English  and  Spaniards,  our  first  heirs  in  Canada  and  in 


346  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

Under  the  impression,  that  the  expected  peace  between 
the  mother  countries  would  render  it  important  to  define  the 
boundaries  of  their  colonial  possessions,  the  active  governor 
of  Canada  dispatched  M.  de  Celeron  de  Bienville,  with  300 
men,  to  traverse  the  vast  wilderness  lying  from  Detroit  south- 
east to  the  Apalachian  Mountains.  Assuming  this  range 
as  the  limit  of  the  British  colonies,  he  directed  that  leaden 
plates,  engraved  with  the  arms  of  France,  should  be  buried 
at  particular  places  in  the  western  country,  to  mark  the  ter- 
ritories of  France,  and  that  the  chief  of  the  expedition  should 
endeavor  to  secure  a  promise  from  the  Indians  to  exclude  for 
the  future  all  English  traders.  At  the  same  time,  he  gave 
notice  to  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  that  he  was  com- 
manded by  the  King  of  France  to  seize  all  British  merchants 
found  in  those  countries,  and  to  confiscate  their  goods.  De 
Celeron  fulfilled  his  difficult  commission  to  the  best  of  his 
powers,  but  the  forms  of  possession  which  he  executed  excited 
the  jealous  apprehension  of  the  Indians,  who  concluded  that 
he  designed  to  subject  or  even  enslave  them. 

When  M.  de  la  Galissoniere  failed  in  his  endeavor  to 
obtain  the  aid  of  an  extensive  immigration  from  France,  he 
turned  his  thoughts  toward  the  Acadian  settlers*  (whom 

Louisiana.    ^lore  than  two  thirds  of  North  America  would  acknowledge 

the  sovereignty  of  France "We  possessed  here  vast  countries 

which  might  have  offered  a  home  to  the  excess  of  our  population,  an 
important  market  to  our  commerce,  a  nursery  to  our  navy.  Now  we 
arc  forced  to  confine  in  our  prisons  culprits  condemned  by  the  tribunals, 
for  want  of  a  spot  of  ground  whereon  to  place  these  wretched  creatures. 
We  are  excluded  from  the  New  World,  where  the  human  race  is  re- 
commencing. The  English  and  Spanish  languages  serve  to  express 
the  thoughts  of  many  millions  of  men  in  Africa,  in  Asia,  in  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  on  the  continent  of  the  two  Americas;  and  we,  disinherited 
of  the  conquests  of  our  courage  and  our  genius,  hear  the  language  of 
Racine,  of  Colbert,  and  of  Louis  XIV.  spoken  merely  in  a  few  hamlets 
of  Louisiana  and  Canada,  under  a  foreign  sway.  There  it  remains, 
as  though  but  for  an  evidence  of  the  reverses  of  our  fortune  and  the 
errors  ol'  our  policy.  Thus,  then,  has  France  disappeared  from  North 
America,  like  those  Indian  tribes  with  which  she  sympathized,  and 
some  of  the  wrecks  of  which  I  have  beheld." — Chateaubriand's  Ti-avcls 
in  America,  vol.  ii.,  p.  207. 

*  From  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain-cn-Layc,  1632,  till  1654,  the 
French  had  quiet  possession  of  Acadia;  then  Cromwell  sent  Major 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  347 

the  treaty  of  Utrecht  had  transferred  to  the  British  crown), 
with  the  object  of  forming  a  new  colony.  The  readiest 
expedient  to  influence  this  simple  and  pious  people  was,  ob- 
viously, by  gaining  over  their  clergy  ;  the  Abbe  le  Loutre 
was  selected  as  the  fittest  embassador  to  induce  them  to 
withdraw  from  allegiance  to  the  English  government.  This 
politic  and  unscrupulous  priest  appealed  to  their  interests, 
nationality,  and  religion  as  inducements  to  abandon  the  con- 
quered country,  and  to  establish  themselves  under  the  French 
crown  in  a  new  settlement  which  he  proposed  to  form  on 
the  Canadian  side  of  Acadia.  Le  Loutre's  persuasions  in- 
fluenced many  of  these  primitive  people  to  proceed  to  the 
French  posts,  where  every  protection  and  attention  was  be- 
stowed upon  them. 

Animated  by  the  success  of  this  measure,  and  sanguine 
that  large  numbers  of  the  Acadians  would  follow  the  first 
seceders,  De  la  Galissoniere  induced  the  home  government 
to  appoint  a  considerable  sum  yearly  to  carrying  out  his 
views ;  but,  in  the  midst  of  his  patriotic  exertions,  he  was 
obliged  to  hand  over  the  reins  of  government  to  M.  de  la 
Jonquiere,  who  had  now  arrived  to  claim  the  post  so  ably 
held  by  another  during  his  captivity  with  the  English. 
Galissoniere,  however,  before  he  sailed  for  France,  magnan- 
imously furnished  his  successor  with  the  best  information  on 
colonial  matters,  and  pointed  out  the  most  promising  plans 
for  the  improvement  of  the  province.*      De  la  Jonquiere  un- 

Sedgwick  to  attack  it,  with  orders  to  expel  all  who  would  not  acknowl- 
ed^e  themselves  subjects  of  England.  Sedgwick  executed  his  cona- 
mission,  and  Cromwell  passed  a  grant  of  Acadia  to  one  De  la  Tour, 
a  French  refugee,  who  had  purchased  Lord  Sterling's  title  to  that 
country;  and  De  la  Tour  soon  after  transferred  his  right  to  Sir  William 
Tpmple. 

Nova  Scotia  was  ceded  to  France  at  the  treaty  of  Breda,  in  1670. 
In  1690  it  .was  retaken  by  Sir  William  Phipps  on  his  way  to  Quebec. 
It  was  given  back  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  Ryswick ;  retaken  by 
General  Nicholson  (who  gave  the  name  of  Annapolis  to  Port  Royal) 
in  1710,  daring  the  War  of  the  Succession.  It  was  formally  and  finally 
ceded  to  England  at  the  peace  of  Utrecht.  The  undefined  limits  of 
Nova  Scotia  were  a  con.stant  source  of  dispute  between  the  French 
and  English  nations. 

*  Professor  Kalm  thus  speaks  of  La  Galissoniere,  who  was  the 


348  THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA. 

wisely  rejected  such  as  related  to  the  Acadian  settlements ; 
but  the  King  of  France  disapproved  of  his  inaction,  and 
reprimanded  him  for  not  having  continued  the  course  of  his 
predecessor.  Instructions  were  given  him  to  take  immediate 
possession  of  the  neighboring  country,  to  build  new  forts  for 

governor  of  Quebec  at  the  time  of  his  travels  through  Canada.  "  He 
was  of  a  low  stature  and  somewhat  hump-backed.  He  has  a  sur- 
prising knowledge  in  all  branches  of  science,  and  especially  in  natural 
history,  in  which  he  is  so  well  versed,  that,  when  he  began  to  speak 
to  me  about  it,  I  imagined  I  saw  our  great  Linnaeus  under  a  new 
form.  When  he  spoke  of  the  use  of  natural  history,  of  the  method  of 
learning,  and  employing  it  to  raise  the  state  of  a  country,  I  was 
astonished  to  see  him  take  his  reasons  from  politics,  as  well  as  natural 
philosophy,  mathematics,  and  other  sciences.  I  own  that  my  conver- 
sation with  this  nobleman  was  very  instructive  to  me,  and  I  always 
drew  a  great  deal  of  useful  knowledge  from  it.  He  told  me  several 
ways  of  employing  natural  history  to  the  purposes  of  politics,  and  to 
make  a  country  powerful  in  order  to  depress  its  envious  neighbors. 
Never  has  natural  history  had  a  greater  promotion  in  this  country, 
and  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  it  will  ever  have  its  equal  here.  As 
soon  as  he  got  the  place  of  governor  general,  he  began  to  take  those 
measures  for  getting  information  in  natural  history  which  I  have  men- 
tioned before.  When  he  saw  people  who  had  for  some  time  been  in 
a  settled  place  of  the  country,  especially  in  the  more  remote  parts,  he 
always  questioned  them  about  the  trees,  plants,  earths,  stones,  ores, 
animals,  &c.,  of  the  place.  Those  who  seemed  to  have  clearer  notions 
than  the  rest  were  obliged  to  give  him  circumstantial  descriptions  of 
what  they  had  seen.  He  himself  wrote  down  all  the  accounts  he  re- 
ceived, and  by  this  great  appreciation,  so  uncommon  among  persons 
of  his  rank,  he  soon  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  most  distant  parts  of 
America.  The  priests,  commandants  of  forts  and  of  several  distant 
places,  are  often  surprised  by  his  questions,  and  wonder  at  his  knowl- 
edge when  they  come  to  Quebec  to  pay  their  visits  to  him,  for  ho  often 
tells  them  that  near  such  a  mountain,  or  on  such  a  shore,  &c.,  where 
they  often  went  a  hunting,  there  are  some  particular  plants,  trees, 
earths,  ores,  &c.,  for  he  had  got  a  knowledge  of  these  things  before. 
From  hence  it  hap{)ened  that  some  of  the  inhabitants  believed  he  had 
a  preternatural  knowledge  of  things,  as  he  was  able  to  mention  all  the 
curiosities  of  places,  sometimes  near  200  Swedish  miles  from  Quebec, 
though  he  never  was  there  himself.  Never  was  there  a  better  states- 
man than  he,  and  nobody  can  take  better  measures,  and  choose  more 
proper  means  for  improving  a  country  and  increasing  its  welfare. 
Canada  was  scarcely  acquainted  with  the  treasure  it  possessed  in  the 
person  of  this  nobleman  when  it  lost  him  again ;  the  king  wanted  his 
services  at  home,  and  could  not  have  him  so  far  off." — Kalm,  in 
Pinkerton,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  679. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.  349 

its  retention,  and  to  occupy  it  with  troops  ;  he  was  also 
desired  to  aid  Le  Loutre  in  all  his  proceedings,  and  to  for- 
ward his  designs.  In  obedience  to  these  orders,  M.  de  Bois- 
hebert  was  dispatched  with  a  body  of  troops  and  some 
peasants,  to  take  post  near  the  mouth  of  the  River  St.  John, 
which  was  looked  upon  as  an  important  post  for  the  defense 
of  the  new  settlement. 

These  measures  inevitably  aroused  the  jealousy  of  the  En- 
glish governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  who  made  repeated  remon- 
strances on  the  subject,  but  with  no  other  effect  than  that 
of  causing  De  la  Jonquiere  to  warn  his  officers  to  avoid  all 
possible  grounds  of  dispute,  as  he  expected  the  limits  of  the 
rival  powers  would  be  speedily  arranged. 

[1749.]  Supplies  for  the  new  post  at  St.  John's  could 
only  be  obtained  from  Quebec,  and  transmitted  by  the  long 
and  difficult  circuit  of  the  whole  Acadian  peninsula.  M.  de 
Vergor  was  sent  on  this  mission  in  an  armed  sloop,  contain- 
ing military  and  other  stores  for  the  French  and  Indians. 
He  was  ordered  to  avoid  all  English  vessels,  but,  if  he  could 
no  longer  shun  pursuit,  to  fight  to  the  last.  This  stern 
command  was  not  obeyed,  for  he  surrendered  without  an 
effort  to  Captain  Ptous,  who,  apprized  of  his  design,  had  in- 
tercepted him  on  the  coast.  On  the  news  of  the  capture  of 
this  sloop,  M.  de  la  Jonquiere  empowered  the  governor  of 
Louisburg*  to  make  reprisals  upon  all  English  vessels  that 
might  enter  his  port. 

General  Cornwallis,  governor  of  Halifax,!  sent  a  detach- 

*  "  Louisbnrg,  together  with  the  whole  Island  of  Cape  Breton,  had 
been  restored  to  the  French  by  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  1748. 

t  "  In  the  year  after  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  land  forces 
of  Great  Britain  were  reduced  to  little  more  than  18,000  men;  those 
in  Minorca,  Gibraltar,  and  the  American  plantations,  to  10,000;  while 
the  sailors  retained  in  the  royal  navy  were  under  17,000." — Commons' 
Journals,  Nov.  23,  1749,  and  Jan.  19,  1750. 

"  From  the  large  number  both  of  soldiei's  and  seamen  suddenly  dis- 
charged, it  was  found  that  they  might  be  cither  driven  to  distress  or 
tempted  to  depredation.  Thus,  both  for  their  own  comfort  and  for 
the  quiet  of  the  remaining  community,  emigration  seemed  to  afford  a 
safe  and  excellent  resource.  The  province  of  Nova  Scotia  was  fixed 
upon  for  this  experiment,  and  the  freehold  of  fifty  acres  was  oflered  to 
each  settler,  with  ten  acres  more  for  every  child  brought  with  him, 


350  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA. 

ment  of  British  troops,  under  Major  Lawrence,  to  watch  the 
movements  of  La  Corne,  the  French  commander,  who  had 
been  directed  to  build  a  fort  on  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  called 
Beau-sejour.*  As  soon  as  Le  Loutre  became  aware  of  the 
arrival  of  the  English,  he  caused  the  houses  and  homesteads 
of  those  unfortunate  Acadians  who  remained  faithful  to  En- 
gland to  be  burned.  Soon  after  this  cruel  severity  the  French 
and  English  leaders  held  a  conference,  and  agreed  to  erect 
forts  opposite  to  each  other  on  each  side  of  the  River  Beau- 
bassin,t  but  to  remain  at  peace  till  they  received  further  in- 
structions. 

While  occasions  of  dispute  were  thus  arising  on  the  Nova 
Scotia  peninsula,  a  still  more  dangerous  difficulty  threatened 

besides  a  free  passage,  and  an  exemption  from  all  taxes  during  a 
term  of  ten  years.  Allured  by  such  advantages,  above  4000  persons, 
with  their  families,  embarked  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Corn- 
wallis,  and  landed  at  the  harbor  of  Chebuctow.  The  new  town  which 
soon  arose  from  these  labors  received  its  name  from  the  Earl  of 
Halifax,  who  presided  at  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  who  had  the  prin- 
cipal share  in  the  foundation  of  this  colony.  In  the  first  winter  there 
were  but  300  huts  of  wood,  surrounded  by  a  palisade ;  but  Halifax  at 
present  deserves  to  be  ranked  among  the  most  thriving  dependencies 
of  the  British  crown." — Lord  Mahon's  History  of  England,  vol.  iv., 

*  '■  As  it  was  the  intention  of  the  government  to  build  a  strong  fort 
at  Beau-sejour,  Chaussegros  de  Lery,  son  of  the  engineer  who  traced 
the  fortifications  of  Quebec,  was  sent  for  that  purpose.  De  Vassan, 
who  succeeded  La  Corne  in  the  command  of  this  post  was  instructed, 
as  his  predecessor  had  been,  to  pay  the  utmost  attention  to  the  Abbe 
le  Loutre,  and  to  avoid  all  disputes  with  the  English.  De  Vassan's 
penetration  soon  h^d  him  to  discover  Le  Loutre's  true  character ;  but, 
not  wishing  to  have  any  misunderstanding  with  him,  he  left  him  full 
scope  in  the  management  of  the  aflairs  of  the  Acadians.  These  un- 
happy people  had  from  the  first  felt  the  iron  hand  of  his  tyranny ; 
neither  the  provisions  nor  clothing  furnished  by  the  crown  could  be 
obtained  without  repeated  supplications  and  prayers,  and  in  every  in- 
stance he  showed  a  heart  steeled  against  every  sentiment  of  humanity." 
— Smith's  History  of  Canada,  vol.  i.,  p.  217. 

t  "  We  soon  after  came  to  anchor  in  the  basin,  called  by  the  French, 
with  much  propriety,  Beau-bassin,  where  a  hundred  ships  of  the  line 
may  ride  in  safety  without  crowding,  and  from  the  time  we  entered 
this  bay  we  found  water  enough  every  where  for  a  first-rate  ship  of 
war.  It  is  about  five  miles  from  Beau-sejour,  now  Fort  Cumberland." 
— Knox's  Historical  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  35. 


THE  CONaUEST  OF  CANADA.  351 

the  cause  of  peace  in  the  far  West.  The  governors  of  the 
British  colonies  continued  to  grant  hcense  to  their  merchants 
to  trade  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  in  contempt  of  the  haughty 
pretensions  of  French  sovereignty.  By  the  orders  of  La 
Jonquiere,  three  of  these  adventurers  were  seized,  with  all 
their  goods,  and  carried  captive  to  Montreal  :  after  a  long 
examination,  however,  they  were  discharged. 


END    OF    VOL.    I. 


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